


Actions Speak Louder than Words

by ChibiEdoKun



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Mute!Ed, Past Violence/Kidnapping, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-08-21
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-25 05:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 62,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6182668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiEdoKun/pseuds/ChibiEdoKun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He met Roy Mustang on his first day in Resembol, and he made him feel happier than he had in years. Roy didn't see anything different about him, and treated him as he would anyone else. Maybe, just maybe, Roy would be the one to fix him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For the First Time

**Author's Note:**

> Please be kind, this chapter was written way back in 2010. I've edited it slightly, but wanted to keep it the same as it is on FF.net and LJ. I'll come back and edit it when (if) I ever finish this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You seem to be a bit of a smart ass, so I'm sure you and Ed will get along perfectly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE 5/24/16: I decided to rewrite this chapter finally! This story was started when I was 15, so it was in a dire need of some reworking. I plan to rewrite some things before I add a new chapter because I'm reworking the plot slightly. If you would like read the original mess, please look this story up on FanFiction.net. It'll be under the pen name 'Kiara45'

The late afternoon sun crept in through the open window, bathing everything in its path with a golden hue. Inside the room, the hardwood floor was littered with various items. Books stacked on top of each other haphazardly, papers cluttered about the room, and pens littered the floor. But otherwise, you could almost say that the room was tidy.

The room was quiet, aside from the sounds of nature escaping in through the open window. A figure laid across the bed, his back pressing into the deep red covers. One arm rested behind his head on the pillow, his other hand tightly held a book. Deep blue eyes scanned the thin pages of the book, heavily engrossed in its words.

The young teen had dark, black hair with choppy cut bangs that hung above his eyes. His skin was rather pale, resembling that of those from Xing. Overall, he was rather average looking.

The teen was broken out of his thoughts at the sudden loud noise of what sounded like a door being slammed. As sound of the door echoed, an angry voice followed.

 _'Sounds like something's going on across the street…'_ He thought. Intrigued by the disturbance, he sat up, the bed creaking in annoyance as he got up. Lazily, he threw the book down on to the floor. A loud _'thump!'_ sounded as it hit the floor. He sauntered across the room, towards the window, peering down at the world beneath him.

He chuckled, “No surprise, it's coming from Winry's house.” He muttered to himself. The Rockbells were his neighbors across the street, where an old woman and her teenager granddaughter lived. The old woman's granddaughter, Winry, was known to have a bad temper. His younger sister was friends with the ill-tempered teen, they've practically known each other since birth.

The scene that was painted below him was quite amusing. Two young teens were out in the front yard, the first he saw was the tallest out of the two. With a suitcase in one hand, he was yelling at the other man. Who had his arms crossed against his chest, and appeared to not be listening. A car was behind the taller teen who was yelling, the trunk was open and a suitcase was on the ground. The lid opened up, belongings were scattered across the yard. The ebony haired teen had to surpass a chuckle.

 _'Ah, it seems that Winry has some comical visitors.'_ He thought, resting his arms against the window ledge. He was going to wait for the real show to start.

It was then that the front door to the Rockbell home opened, and violently at that. A young girl stomped down the stairs of the patio, long blond hair flying in the process. Her face was red with anger, fist curled together in tight balls. As she approached the teens, a string of violent curses were thrown. The ebony haired teen let out a loud chorus of laughter.

He suddenly got up, walking across his room and out into the hall. As he walked down the stairs, he passed the living room. Peering his head in, he saw his younger sister sitting on the couch, eyes fixated on the TV.

"Riza, tell Mom that I'm going over to Winry's." He said. "They have some visitors and I'm going to see if they need help." He trailed off, as he was far too lazy to go find his Mother and tell her himself.

Riza turned her head, amber-colored eyes landing on her older brother. "Okay Roy, just be back before dinner." She said, before a small smirk spread across her lips. "Don't want to piss Mom off again." She said with a smirk.

Roy merely rolled his eyes, "You are never going to let me live that down." He muttered under his breath. He then quickly turned on his heel and walked out the door, leaving Riza giggling on the couch.

 

* * *

 

Al sighed as he sat a suitcase down, giving his brother a glare. Winry had gone inside a few moments ago, but not after giving them hell about the mess on the yard. "I told you that you stuffed too much in that suitcase, Edward." He grumbled. "And now look!" He screeched, pointing over to the suitcase that had popped open, leaving a trail of things in its path.

The long-haired teen just shrugged his shoulders, looking between his brother and the suitcase. Before a lazy smile danced a crossed his features, he gave Al several hand gestures before shoving his hands in his pockets.

Another sigh passed through Al's lips. “Whatever, brother.” Al said, rolling his eyes. "You're cleaning it up though." He muttered, grabbing the suitcase. He then marched inside, leaving his brother alone.

Edward merely shrugged once more. With his hands dug deep in his pockets, he walked over to the mess around the suitcase. He dropped to his knees, picking up the miscellaneous things that now scattered part of the yard. He was so wrapped up in the thoughts of cleaning up the yard; he hadn't noticed the presence of another person.

"Need some help?"

Edward jumped, slightly startled by the new voice. A soft chuckle was heard after that, causing him to look up. He saw a tall looking young man standing before him, deep blue colored iris's staring at Edward. His lips were curved in a gently smile, all in all he looked like a nice person.

Roy took in the young mans appearance slowly. He had long blond hair that was tied up in a pony tail, with long bangs framing his face. His eyes were a vivid golden color, and were wide with curiosity. His skin was tanned slightly, a nice olive color. But he had to hold in a gasp when he took the golden eyed teen's face in with detail. Across the left side of his face were deep colored scars, four deep cuts running from the side of his left cheek just to the edge of his nose in a diagonal pattern. His auric colored bangs hid the rest of his face, which in reality wasn't much. Roy managed to remain collected together, keeping his many question inside.

"Sorry if I startled you." Roy trailed off nervously as he took a seat on the ground. "I live across the street." He continued. "And I saw the mess, and I thought that you could use some help."

Edward gave him a smile, making Roy feel slightly more welcome. "By the way, my name's Roy." He said. "What's yours?"

Edward looked him dead in the eye for some time, and Roy was just about to repeat his question when the youthful looking teen gave him a wide smirk, eyes dancing with delight and a hint of mischief. A gasp left his lips when he felt the golden-haired teen grab his hand. He felt the boy's fingers dance across his palm, sending slow chills down his spine. "Wh-What are you doing?" He stammered out, his cheeks slightly tinted pink. Edward just smiled, continuing what he was doing. His long slender finger danced across the palm of his hand.

It took Roy a moment to realize that the blond was spelling out words. After a few minutes had past, the man let go of his hand. Sitting contently, as if what he had done wasn't strange at all. Roy thought through the letters he had written, and suddenly it clicked. "Oh! Your name's Edward." Roy said, before a smile broke through. Edward nodded, a huge grin on his face.

"I see." Roy muttered. "How old are you?"

Ed held up ten fingers before adding six more. "Ah, sixteen?" Roy asked, just to confirm it. Ed nodded quickly, long strands of his pony tail flying as he did so. “So am I.” Roy added.

Edward gave him a slight smile, as if saying _'cool'_.

Roy went silent, thinking through what he just discovered. _'Edward can't talk.'_ He thought to himself. He sat there for a couple more moments, thinking through what he'd just realized. He then remembered why he came over. "So, how about I help you pick things up?" He suggested, a soft smile gracing his features.

Edward just shrugged his shoulders, as if he was saying _'if you want to.'_ Roy smiled once more, before he began to pick up the items. Edward following the motion shortly after.

Roy watched as the teen stretched his arm out, causing more marks upon his skin to come into view. Long lines scratched all upon his muscular arms, but they weren't nearly prominent as the marks upon his face. He watched as Edward forcefully threw things into the large suitcase, not really paying attention to what was going in.

Roy shook his head, a playful smirk was painted across his face. He then began to slowly pick the items up, most of them just various miscellaneous items. Books, hair brushes, a box of hair ties, etc. All typical things you would find in someones suitcase when they were staying away for awhile.

“Looks like you got everything but the kitchen sink.” Roy said suddenly, a playful smile spreading across his lips. “Are you going to have to go back for that?”

The teen looked at him, before a smile played way to his petal-pink colored lips. He shook his head slightly, before returning to piling things into the already over stuffed suitcase. The rest of the work was done in a comfortable silence. It only took a matter of minutes before the two teens were done.

Edward zipped the suitcase up in victory, a large smile coming upon his lips. He turned to Roy, and gave him a thumbs up. Roy smiled, rolling on to his back. He felt the prickly grass poking through the thin fabric of his shirt, making him itch slightly, but he made no move to solve that problem.

"So, are you friends of the Rockbell's?" Roy asked, trying to break the tension between the two.

Edward nodded, his gaze heavy on the ground. "I see, my sister and I have known the Rockbell's since we were little." Roy said, as if he knew that Ed wondered his relation with the family. He could some how feel the question, even though the teen made no motion that he wondered it.

After that, Roy was silent. Edward and Roy just enjoyed each other's company and the warmth of the sun above them. Roy briefly wondered where the other teen had gone. But it wasn't long before made his appearance again.

The door opened slowly, unlike Winry's violent slam they had witnessed earlier. A tall teen came through. It was obvious that it was Edward's brother, they share many similarities in appearance. But, his skin was a pale peach color, unlike Edward's mild tan. His hair was more brown than it was blond, and it was short, unlike Edward's long tresses. Just like Edward, his eyes were an odd color, a light mixture of silver and brown. When he spotted Roy, he quickly made his way over to Edward.

"Brother! Were you bothering him?" The taller teen asked, pulling Edward up from the ground. Edward glared at the young teen, earning a glare back.

Roy just chuckled, slowly getting up from the ground. Brushing some dirt off his jeans as he spoke. "Oh he wasn't bothering me at all." Roy said, before looking the new acquaintance in the eye. "In fact it's quite the opposite, you could say I was bothering him." He trailed off, a slight smirk forming.

"Oh." The teen said.

Edward began to do quick hand gestures to the taller teen, earning nods and such from him. "Oh, I see, I see." The brown-haired teen the turned to Roy. "So you helped him pick up the mess."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, that's sort of why I came over.." He said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I'm Roy." He said, outstretching his hand.

"My name's Alphonse." Al said, a smile spreading across his lips, shaking Roy's hand. "But you can call me Al."

Roy nodded, and the trio fell into an awkward silence. "Well uh, Winry and Pinako are making dinner." Al trailed off. "Would you like to join us in exchange for you helping Ed clean the mess up..?"

Roy smiled. "I'd like that." He said, flashing a grin towards Edward who smiled back in return.

 

* * *

 

After a delicious dinner of stew made by Winry and Pinako's team work, Roy found himself seated at the table with Al across from him. While Ed and the others sat in the living room watching TV. A cup of tea sat beside each of them, but it had still gone untouched. Roy watched as the hot transparent steam rose up from the cup before it evaporated into the air. He waited patiently for Al to speak, as he said he wanted to. But the other teen seemed to be watching the other's in the family room.

Several more minutes passed, and Al let out a long sigh before turning his attention to Roy.

"So, I'm sure you're curious about my brother." Al trailed off, drawing circles on table with his finger tip.

“Something like that.” Roy said, “But, it's not a big deal if it's something you guys don't want to talk about it.”

“Oh, it's not that big a deal.” Al said, “It seems like he likes you, though, and I like it when brother finds friends.” Al paused for a minute, taking a small sip of his tea. “But being his friend requires some background knowledge on him.”

“And that background knowledge would be?” Roy asked, his eyes drifted towards his mig of tea. Watching his reflection in the amber colored liquid.

"I'm sure you've noticed that Ed can't talk." He was silent for a moment. “He's mute.”

"So I noticed." Roy said, taking a sip of the tea.

Al rolled his eyes very slightly, before taking another sip of tea. “You seem to be a bit of a smart ass, so I'm sure you and Ed will get along perfectly.” Al paused for a minute, listening as Roy let out a chuckle. “Anyhow, Ed has Elective mutism.”

Silence fell between the teens, as the two were lost in their own thoughts. The only sound entering the dining room was the echoing of the TV from the living room. Roy watched Al slightly, who was lost in a daze as he stare out the window. Slowly, Roy took another sip of his tea before he spoke.

"So, what is Elective mutism?" Roy asked suddenly, very intrigued by this new information.

Al blinked, coming out of his daze, before looking up. “It's when someone refuses to speak in all social situation, even when they are able to do so.” Al said, drinking more of his tea.

"Was Ed always mute?" Roy asked, taking a drink of his tea as well.

"No." He said his voice wavering slightly as he started his next sentence. "It's often caused by defiance or, in Edward's case, the effect of trauma." Al trailed off, his voice soft.

"Do you know what-"

"No." Al said abruptly. "Only two people besides Edward know what happened that caused him to stop talking." His voice was quick, the words were slightly rushed together.

"And who would that be?" Roy persisted.

"Our Mother, who died a year ago." Al said, "And our Father, who refuses to speak of it."

"Where's your father now?" Roy asked.

Al sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "With his work, traveling to wherever the pin lands" Al said harshly. His gaze falling to the light auburn color of the tea, watching his reflection in it. "Hence why we're here now." Al said.

Roy remained quiet, he could tell that Al was not finished.

"Our Mom and Dad divorced when I was seven and Ed was eight." He began. "We lived with out Mother up until she passed away a year ago." Al continued on, but not before taking another sip of the tea. "After that, we lived with our Dad for a year, but he found a job that required him to move a lot." He said. "So he shipped us here."

"I see." Roy said.

"It's better for Ed to be here though." Al said, resting his cheek in the palm of his hand, looking out into the living room. He watched as Ed smiled, taking a picture of himself and Winry together. "Edward doesn't get along with him."

Roy didn't say anything for a moment. "Your brother…how does he communicate..?" Roy asked.

Al turned his attention back on Roy. "He uses sign language primarily." Al answered easily. "We all understand it pretty well." He paused, "How did he speak to you?"

"He grabbed my hand and began to write letters on my palm…" Roy said, reenacting the strange motion Edward did.

Al just laughed, "He likes to freak people out with that." Al smiled, “Usually he has a notebook he carries around and uses that to communicate with people that don't understand sign language.”

"Oh." Roy said, a smile forming. "I have another question.”

"Shoot." Al said, taking a small sip of his tea.

"When did he last speak?" He asked. "If you don't mind me asking, that is…"

Al was quiet for a moment. "Um….we were still very young." He said. "I think it was when I was five, so he was six."

"I see…" Roy said, his voice soft.

"It's gotten to the point where I have a hard time remembering how his voice sounded." Al said, his gaze dropping to the floor. A deep sense of sadness finding home in his heart.

"I'm so sorry." Roy said. "Do doctors think that he'll ever be able to talk again?"

"He's perfectly capable of speaking." Al said, his voice almost bitter in a sense. "He just needs to overcome his fears, whatever they are."

Roy merely nodded, his gaze drifting to his tea. The steam warming his face slowly. "What about school?" He asked, his gaze never leaving the tea.

"He's in a regular classroom, besides his inability to talk he's just fine mentally." Al answered. “Almost too fine, he's a smart ass.” Al let out a chuckle, "Anyhow, he has a speech-language pathologist." Al explained. "Where he's learned sign language and other ways to communicate." Al said. "It's the equivalent of extra-tutoring that he really doesn't need."

"I see, so is that just for like a short amount of time a day?" Roy asked.

"During the school year, he goes once a week or once every other week." Al said. "He doesn't go as often as he did when we were younger." Al explained.

"You know a lot about his needs. " Roy said, taking a sip of the tea.

"Before our Mom died…" Al said, his gaze shifting to his lap. "She sat me down and told me everything Ed needed and pretty much everything about the disorder." He explained. "She told me that when she was gone, Ed needed someone who knew everything about the condition and how to advocate for him." Al let out a chuckle. “Not really like he needs one at sixteen, he knows how let people know how he feels and what he needs.” Al smiled, “But Mom just wanted to make sure that Edward always had someone who could support him because our Dad is useless when it comes to the mutism.”

"But she didn't tell you what Ed saw that made him mute." Roy said, more wanting to clarify the matter.

"She said it was his decision to tell people, that he had to overcome it." Al said. “So, I just have to play the waiting game.”

Roy was quiet, just taking everything in. "I see."

All was quiet in the dining room; the only sound was the TV's noise drifting in from the living room. Roy's attention shifted to the living room, his gaze focused on those that inhabited it. He watched as Edward interacted with Winry, his hands moving a little more slowly than they did for Al. Winry's eyes were bright, a wide smile on her face as she and Edward talked.

"I have a feeling that you and my brother are going to be good friends.” Al said suddenly, more to himself than to Roy.

Roy smiled, his eyes locking on Edward. Watching as the young teen excitedly signed something to Winry. “You think so?” He asked.

 

* * *

After saying his goodbyes to the Rockbell's and his newly made friends, the Elric brothers, Roy found himself walking out into the warm summer evening. Looking both ways, he made sure that no cars were coming before he dashed across the street quickly.

"Mom's going to be mad." Roy mumbled to himself as he walked up the steps to the front porch. Digging the key out of his pocket, he shoved the small piece of metal into the lock. Turning it quickly, hearing a click in response. He slowly opened the door, predicting his Mother to be there waiting behind it. But instead, he found the entrée way to be empty.

A sigh of relief passed through his lips, “Thank God.” Roy whispered as he tiptoed into the house.

Riza was curled up on the couch, a book in her hand. The TV was on, but it was more for background noise than entertainment purposes. She looked up at the sound of the door closing, sending Roy a smile.

"Winry sent me a text about you staying for dinner and I told Mom and Dad." Riza said, watching as Roy entered the living room. "They just went to bed."

"Yeah, sorry I didn't text you." Roy said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Forgot my cell phone here."

Riza smiled softly. "It's alright, I heard you were making friends with Winry's guest."

Roy grinned, “Yeah, her old family friends are moving in.” Roy said, taking a seat on the couch. “Alphonse and Edward, Al's the same age as you and Winry and Ed's the same age as me.” Roy explained, “We were hanging out and watching TV together.”

“Well that's good.” Riza said with a smile, “You need to have friends besides Maes.”

Roy rolled his eyes, “Riza, I _do_ have friends besides Maes.”

“I think Havoc and the boys would disagree.” Riza said with a smirk, “You only hang with Maes, I don't get how you stand him that long.”

Roy rolled his eyes once more, “Whatever, I'm going to bed so I don't have to hear you criticizing my friends.”

“Night, Roy.” Riza said with a soft smile.

“Night, Riza.” Roy said with a smile, before turning and walking towards the stairs.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Collect call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward quickly signed a rude reply to his brother. 'Well I'd had my fill of seeing tounge wresting today, so I'm going over to Roy's'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5/28/16 UPDATE - Rewrote the chapter, didn't have it read over by the beta reader so PLEASE let me know if you find any errors.

The stairs creaked loudly as Alphonse slowly climbed them with a steady pace. His hands were buried deep within his pockets, and his face looked weary with exhaustion. He slowly blinked, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He turned down the hall, and found himself in front of his brothers bedroom door. He knocked quietly.

"Ed?" He asked softly.

When his brother didn't emerged from the barricades of his bedroom, Al became concerned. Feeling a pang of worry course through his veins, he quickly shoved the door open.

Only to find Ed curled up in a ball, asleep, on the covers. His eyes softened, and a small smile gave way. A sigh of relief fell from his lips, and the worry burning inside of him evaporated. A slight chuckle escaped his lips and he brushed a stray lock of hair out of Edward's face.

"You'll catch a cold like that brother.." Al said, slowly lifting his Edward up slightly. He pulled back the covers, and as gently as he could, placed Ed on the soft plush mattress. Earning a loud snore in response, another chuckle fell from his lips as he pulled the covers up to Ed's chin. "Sleep well, brother.." Al said softly.

He quietly made his way out of the messy, unpacked room, flipping the lights off on his way out.

* * *

 

Winry smiled when she saw Al entering the living room, she softly patted the seat beside her on the couch. "What was Ed doing?" She asked as Al quietly approached her.

Al chuckled softly. "He'd fallen asleep as soon as he hit the bed."

Winry smiled, "Sounds like him."

Al sighed, plopping down onto the couch. "How's he been doing lately?" Winry asked, this being the first time she got to talk to him in private.

Al merely shrugged his shoulders. "Same as always." He answered, a sad look upon his face. “But it's better than regressing, and he's happy that we've moved here.”

Winry gave him a sad look. "I see." She paused momentarily, looking down at her feet. "Did your Dad give you any new ideas as to what happen?"

Al rolled his eyes, “You know how Dad is, he barely even acknowledges what happen.” Al let out a sigh. “When I tried to talk to him about he just shut me out, told me that the past should be left in the past.” Al buried his face in his hands. “The only clues are the scares.”

Winry had seen the scars, they were hard to miss. They covered his back and chest in a thick patch, a portion of his upper arm. A think line that was about an inch or two long was above his left eyes, and a portion of his upper thigh was also scarred. They covered half of the left side of his face, four deep long gashes running from the side of his face to the edge of his nose. "I wish we could figure it out." Winry muttered softly. “It'd be nice to hear his voice again..”

"You and me both." Al said.

The two were silent for a moment, before a smile came across Al's lips. "But, he did seem to like Roy." He said cheerily.

"Yeah, he did." Winry said. "Roy's a nice guy, hanging around him will be good for Ed."

Al nodded. "I think Ed liked the fact that Roy didn't treat him any differently." He said, “Plus Roy's just as much of a smart ass as Edward is.”

Winry chuckled, “That's true.”

Silence fell between the two, and Winry took this opportunity to wrap her arms around Al's neck. “Enough about Ed.” She whispered, a sly grin appearing on her face.

Al grinned. "I've been waiting for this all day." Al replied, before pressing his lips tenderly against Winry's soft ones. Winry smiled into the kiss, her fingers twirling around short locks of carmel colored hair. Al's arms locked themselves around Winry's thin waist, and Winry felt herself _melt_ into the kiss.

Being wrapped in Al's arms was something that Winry would never grow tired of.

* * *

The sun was just starting to filter through the blinds, when Roy found himself waking up. Sitting up, Roy let out a groan as he rubbed at his eyes sightly. Swinging his legs across the bed, he got up slowly. A glance at the clock told him that it was only seven in the morning, Roy groaned. _'Seven? And on a Saturday at that…'_ He thought.

He thought about going back to bed, but the thought quickly vanished from his mind. He decided to take this opportunity to get some work done.

He quickly made his bed, before walking across the room over to his desk. Gently, he picked up his laptop and carried it over to his bed. Taking a seat on the soft comforter, Roy sat his laptop in his lap. Opening it up, he was met with his colorful wallpaper. Pulling up his browser, Roy went straight to Google. Typing quickly, he felt as if his fingers weren't even touching the keys.

Once the page loaded, he clicked the first link on the page. After skimming the webpage, Roy sighed, hitting back once more. He glanced through a couple more pages before he found himself closing the laptop. He slowly ran hand through his black colored locks.

"So…" Roy muttered softly. "I'm stuck playing the waiting game too." He said solemnly, falling back onto the bed.

Edward let out a sigh of annoyance as he sat in the living room, trying to watch a TV show. Instead, he was stuck watching Al and Winry trying to suck each others faces off.

 _'Sure, I may not talk but I'm not a ghost!'_ Edward thought, thoroughly annoyed. He sent another glare the couples way. Before finally finding himself fed up with the gross make-out session going on next to him. Standing abruptly, Ed turned the TV off and grabbed his notebook and pen off the coffee table before walking out of the room in rush. Which did _not_ go pass the eyes of Al. Who quickly ripped himself away from Winry, following his brother.

“Ah, brother where are you going?” Al asked, running out into the entrée way.

Edward quickly signed a rude reply to his brother. _'Well I'd had my fill of seeing tounge wresting today, so I'm going over to Roy's'_

Al rolled his eyes, “You've could've just asked us to stop, Brother.” Al said.

Edward let out a cough, which was his way of chuckling. _'Like that would've stopped you, I'll be back back later.'_ Ed signed, resting his hand on the doorknob.

"Fine brother, just be careful." He said, before turning and heading back into the living room.

Edward sent Al a look that said _'Fuck off.'_

* * *

Opening the door, Ed was met with the warm early afternoon sun. A smile came across his lips as he walked out into the humid Summer air. It wasn't viciously hot in Resembool like it was in Central, where when you walked outside you could actually feel the thick humid air around you. As he approached the road, he quickly looked both ways as he buried his hands deep in his pockets. Finding no cars coming, he quickly dashed across the street.

Walking up the steps to the front porch, Ed felt a wave of nervousness come across him. _'Hope I'm not interrupting anything.._ ' Ed thought. He lifted a shaky hand up to the doorbell, and firmly pressed the tiny button. As soon as the doorbell rang, a loud barking fallowed it. From behind the door he could hear someone disciplining the dog, and he impatiently tapped his foot.

The door opened slowly, where a young woman with long blonde hair stood. "Oh, hello." She said slowly. He could tell that she was slightly nervous at the fact that he didn't look all too familiar to her.

A shy smile broke through on Ed's lips, and he nervously raised a hand up to wave slightly. _'She must be Roy's sister.'_ He thought. Remembering that Roy stated that his sister and Winry were good friends.

"Oh! You're Edward, Winry's family friend!" Riza said, a smile forming on her lips. "Did you come to see Roy?" She asked.

Edward nodded, glad that she seemed to understand that he was unable to speak. "You can come inside, I'll go get Roy." Riza said, ushering Edward inside. Ed merely nodded, just happy to be out of the house and not having to deal with Al and Winry's kissing.

Ed watched as Riza quickly walked up the stairs, constantly crying out _'Roy'_ as loudly as she could. But it wasn't long before she disappeared up the stairs. His gaze than began to drift around the house, it was nice from what he could see. The living room was painted a tranquil green color, with a deep chocolate colored couch and love seat. Shifting his feet nervously, he walked into the living room, taking a seat on the edge of the love seat. He could hear the Roy's deep voice drifting from upstairs, and he felt a smile tug at his lips.

Then the footsteps sounded, and his eyes wandered over towards the staircase. He saw Roy rushing down them hastily, frantically tugging a white t-shirt over his head. Edward grinned, watching as Roy quickly worked his way over to him.

At the sight of Ed, a large smile appearing on Roy lips, "Hey.." Roy said. "What are you doing here?" He asked, slightly breathless.

Edward opened his notebook, quickly scribbling some words before holding it in front of Roy. _'Al and Winry kept sucking face and it was getting gross.'_

Roy read the sentence slowly, before letting out a chuckle. “Didn't know they were together.” Roy answered, turning to face Ed.

Edward nodded, taking the notebook back and writing some more before turning it for Roy to read. _'They've been together for about two months.'_ Roy quickly read the sentence before nodding.

"Well, you're free to hang out here if you want." Roy trailed off. "How about we hang in my room for awhile?"

Edward quickly nodded, and with that the two ventured upstairs.

* * *

Edward sat on the plush covers of Roy's bed, his legs crossed Indian style. Roy sat on the opposite side of the bed, watching Edward.

"So.." Roy trailed off nervously. "What do you want to do?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders, not really sure what he wanted to do. All he really wanted was to get out of the house, get away from Al and Winry making out, get away from the questions. Get away from the whispers, the quiet questions when they thought that Ed wasn't able to hear them.

Roy nodded, getting off of the bed slowly. "Well, we can hang out here and try to find something to do…" Roy said slowly. "Or, we can go out and I can show you around Resembool." Roy said with a smile.

Edward's ears perked up at the suggestion of hanging out around town. Hopping off the bed, Edward held up two fingers. Signifying that Edward wanted to go our and explore Resembool.

“You want to go hang out around town?” Roy asked, clarifying that he was correct about what Edward wanted to.

Ed nodded his head, and his lips began turn up into a grin. He then pointed to the door, signaling that he was ready to go.

“Let's go then.” Roy said, a smile forming.

Edward was just _beaming_ as he followed the ebony haired teen down the stairs.

"Riza, I'm going out!" Roy shouted as he got to the end of the stairs. He wasn't sure where Riza had wandered off to, but he was confident his younger sister had heard him. “Let Mom know I'll be back later!”

Opening the door, Roy sent Edward a smile. “After you.” Roy said, motioning his hand towards outside.

* * *

 

“So where did Ed run off to now?” Winry finally asked after twenty minutes had passed.

The two had been sitting in a very uncomfortable silence, and she watched as Al sat rather tensely. She was worried that the two brothers had some sort of fight. While the two brothers rarely fought, when they did it was disastrous. Edward would run off, and Alphonse would pace holes in to the floorboards.

“Roy's.” Al answered, leaning his head onto her shoulder.

“And this bothers you because...?” Winry added, trying to figure out why Al was so tense over the matter.

“It doesn't bother me!” Al replied quickly, “It's just..weird.”

Winry chuckled, “Why is it weird?” She asked, “I thought you wanted him to make friends.”

“I do.” Al replied, running a hand through his hair. “It's just... this is different.”

Winry was quiet, she had a feeling Al was not done talking.

“It's just...” Al paused for a moment. “Ed has never had friends..” Al paused once more, thinking through his thoughts. “I've never had to worry about him going out with friends, because him not talking poses some issues.”

Winry nodded, “I know Al, but we have to let go of him at some point.”

“I know, Win.” Al said in a soft tone, burying his face into Winry's neck.“But it's just hard to let go of him.”

* * *

Exploring the city with Roy was something that Edward was excited for, and he found himself with a spring in his step as they walked side-by-side. Roy was watching him with a small smirk on his lips, and Edward felt himself grinning.

“Haven't you been to Resembool before?” Roy suddenly asked.

Edward nodded, thinking back to when they use to visit Winry and Granny Pinako when he was young. His Mother grew up in Resembool, only moving after she and his bastard of a Father got married. They use come out to Resembool every Summer and spend several weeks with Winry and her family. But things changed after his Mother got sick, and he hadn't been to Resembool in _years._ He quickly pulled out his notebook, scribbling a reply to Roy. _'Yeah, but Al never lets me go out and explore cause he's an overprotective bear.'_

Roy let out a chuckle, “Well, let's have some fun before I have to return you to the bear.”

Edward grinned, nodding as he took in all the sights and sounds around him.

“How do you feel about getting some lunch?” Roy asked, “I'll buy.”

Edward nodded, and Roy smiled. “Perfect, I know just the place.” Roy replied, “Just follow me.”

* * *

The two walked a couple blocks down the street, finally stopping in front of a cafe. It had a retro look to it, with a red and white striped awning and classic brass accents. “Here we are.” Roy announced, turning towards Ed with a smile. “This place has a little bit of everything, so I'm sure you will like it.”

Edward merely smiled, because their weren't too many foods he _didn't_ like. Besides milk, Edward _hated_ milk.

As Roy opened the door, a bell rang to announce their entrance. Edward slowly followed behind Roy, finding a sense of nervousness envloping him. Social scenes like this, this is where he struggled most. But he had Roy with him, so maybe he could speak for him. At the sound of the bell, the young man behind the counter looked at the door with little interest. He let out a long sigh of disappointment, standing up a little straighter.

"Hello, welcome to Graters.." He said dully. "How may I help you?"

Roy rolled his eyes, annoyed at the teen's attitude, he then walked to towards the counter with Edward following behind him. His eyes drifted towards the menu, silently debuting with what he wanted. Ed followed suit, suddenly becoming very indecisive. It took a few moments before Roy decided what he wanted. Roy told the worker what he wanted, doing the same for Ed. Edward sent him a shaky smile, quickly flipping to his notebook to show Roy what he wanted.

After receiving their orders, Edward and Roy took a seat at a table by the window. A comfortable silence fell between the two as they began to eat their lunch. Edward became lost in his thoughts, thinking over how much had changed in the last twenty-four hours.

He had made a friend.

* * *

 

Three o'clock struck, and Edward found himself walked back to his house. The two teens awkwardly stood on the porch, neither quite sure what to say – or write, for Edward. With his hands buried deep within his pockets, Roy stood stiff across from Ed. Edward, who wasn't all that nervous so much as he was mute and shy, just stood there with golden eyes fixed on Roy. Waiting for the normal social cues that they were saying good-bye.

"Well…” Roy started, fumbling slightly over his words.

Edward nodded, a silent gesture that gave Roy a sign to continue.

“I had fun today.” Roy said with a smile. "We should hang out again some time.”

Edward gave Roy a smile as he nodded, which Roy took as an invitation to have a

“If you ever need anything.” Roy said, “I'm just across the street.”

Edward nodded, a silent sign of saying thanks and that he would take Roy up on his offer.

“Well, I'll let you go.” Roy said suddenly, “Have a nice afternoon, Edward.”

Edward smiled, watching as Roy slowly walked towards the street. As soon as he saw that Roy safely got into his house, Edward opened the door. But a few feeling had enveloped inside him, it was soft and warm. It was a feeling that Edward had never experienced before..

Edward was convinced that it was the early signs of food poisoning.

* * *

_A young version Edward looked around, finding himself in a dimly lit room. He could only see a couple of inches in front of him, and that wasn't much. The room was cold, and Edward found himself nearly shivering._

_"N-Nina?" He asked, his voice soft and quivering slightly as he spoke._

_Taking a timid step forward, he suddenly felt a thick liquid seep through his shoes. "Huh?" He shouted, alarmed. In the darkness, he couldn't see what the suspicious liquid was. Slowly, he crouched down on the floor, dipping his finger in the puddle of liquid. He brought it up close to his face to examine it, and when he realized what it was he felt his blood run cold._

_"Blood?" He shouted, his heart suddenly beating faster and a pool of fear enveloping him._

_It was then that a loud, morbid laugh filled the room. Edward paled at the sudden noise, and the sound of his erratic heartbeat echoed in his ears. Sweat began to trickle down his forehead as footsteps echoed in the room, and it sounded like they were approaching him._

_"Oh, it looks we have a visitor." A soft, manic voice said._

_The voice was merely a whisper, but it caused a pool of fear to eat away at Edward. Frantically, he started taking steps backwards trying to get away from the perpetrator. The maniacal laughter returned, only this time sounding much, much closer – too close._

_"Oh, you won't get away that easily Edward." The man said, Ed could hear him breathing._

_"No!" He shouted, burying his hands into his hair – fingernails digging into his scalp as he tried to escape._

_"Oh, but Nina would love to have a friend over." The man said, and Ed could see the shadows of the mans figure. His eyes widened at the mention of the girls names. "What the hell did you do with Nina?" He shouted angrily, but one could still hear a hint of fear in his voice._

_"Oh, nothing." The man said with a chuckle, and his figure came into view. "Now, do us all a favor and shut your damned trap."_

_The footsteps were getting closer, and he could feel the man breathing down his neck. His heart pounded loudly in his ears. He could feel the touch of cold metal against his skin, pointing towards his face._

_"Now, the fun really begins.."_

* * *

Ed woke with a start, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He could hear his heart beating loudly, the sound echoing in his ears. _'You're okay, you're okay..'_ Edward thought, repeating the phrase in his head over and over.

The nightmares had gone on for years, and he honestly could not remember a time without them. But even after years of nightmares, it didn't make them any easier. He didn't always have them, they came in waves and he would sometimes go a long time without one. Half the time he wondered if the dreams were just from his fucked up mind, or if... if he had actually lived through that hell. The question often ate at his mind, and he couldn't think about it too long without having a panic attack.

Sitting up, Edward brought a shaky hand up to his hair. Running his hand through sweat dampened hair, he turned to look at the digital clock beside his bed. The clock read two-thirty six in the morning, and Edward groaned internally. How the hell was he going to go back to sleep after a fucked up dream like that?

 _'Al.'_ Edward thought, _'I need Al.'_

Slowly, Edward pulled himself out of bed. Feeling the cold wood beneath his feet, directing him towards the hallway. Entering the hallway, Edward found himself lost in an ocean of darkness. Placing his hand on the wall, Edward used that as guide to his younger brothers bedroom. Trying to keep the memory of his nightmare out of his mind, because the thought of it and him being a dark hallway at two-thirty in the morning made his heart pound with fear.

When Al's bedroom door came into view, and Edward slowly opened the door. Trying not to wake his brother up, even though he needed him to clam Edward down. Slowly, he laid down next to his brother,. The warmth of his body, and just his presence, eased Edward's shaken nerves. But they did nothing like Al's comforting words would do.

At the feeling of the bed dip, and the touch of another body, Al felt himself slowly waking. He was a light sleeper, every little noise would wake him at night. Blinking several times, Al turned to see what had woken him. He was slightly surprised when he met with bright golden eyes, somewhat widen with fear. “Brother?” Al mumbled sleepily, “What's the matter?”

Edward shook his head, a sign that he was not up to talk about it. _'Just..'_ Edward's hand shook, and even in the dark of the bedroom Al could see it. _'Needed to be with you.'_ Edward finished, blinking slowly.

Al smiled, “It's okay.” Pulling his hand from under the blanket, Al searched in the dark for Edward. Brushing his fingertips against Ed's shoulder, Al's hand traveled until he found his brother's hand. Intertwining their fingers, Al gave Ed's hand a tight squeeze of reassurance. “I'm always here for you brother.”

In the dim light, Al could see a faint smile tug at Ed lips. He tugged his hand away from Al's, and with shaky hands he signed, _'Can I stay with you?'_ before he quickly re-intertwined his hands with Alphonse's.

Al smiled, “Of course, Edward.”

* * *

 

“So, why do you think he crawled into bed with you?”

It was the next morning, and Al sat up at the dining room table while watching Winry prepare breakfast.

“I don't know.” Al replied, resting his cheek in his hand. “He use to do it when we were little, when he had a nightmare or something.” Al paused for a moment, his gaze drifting out the window. “It's been a _long_ time since it's happened.”

Winry was mixing the batter to some pancakes, quickly mixing some flour into the bowl. “Maybe he had a nightmare?” She suggested, “He's pretty reserved, so he probably wouldn't tell you if he had one.”

Al nodded in agreement, “It's possible.” He replied, “He hasn't had one in a long time, so if he did have one it probably shook him up.”

“I wouldn't worry too much over it.” Winry said, turning to face Al as she finished mixing the batter. “It's concerning, but if he wasn't distraught over it then it means it didn't rattle him too bad.”

Al let out a sigh, “But Winry, this isn't like Edward.” Al replied, “I mean, he has his moments where he needs me and he needs comfort, and it happens a little more often since Mom passed...” Al paused for a minute, “But, he hasn't sought comfort in the middle of the night since the night Mom passed and that was almost a year ago now.”

Winry turned to face the stove, carefully pouring batter on to the skillet. “Well, maybe just let it be for now and see if it gets worse?” She suggested, “If it gets worse, then we start to worry.”

Al let out a sigh, “I guess that's the only thing we can really do.” He said sullenly, “Hopefully it's just a one time thing.”

But Al was concerned, because he was afraid this was going to lead into so much more. He was afraid this would become the reflection of his childhood, where Ed would scream and cry and his Father would either rush Al into the car or lock him in his bedroom. Because his Mother was already hurting enough, but she had to carry Ed's pain too. His parents marriage was falling apart, his big brother was falling apart, and Al was left to fend for himself even though he was only six.

It was the doorbell that woke Al out of his thoughts, and he quickly pulled himself up from the chair. “I'll get it.” Al mumbled, ignoring what ever reply Winry gave him as he walked into the entryway.

Turning the doorknob, Al was was met with Roy Mustang. Al gave him a week smile, “Hey Roy.”

Roy gave him a wide smile, “Hey, is Ed home?” Roy asked, burying his hands deep in the pockets of his khaki shorts.

Al let out a soft sigh, “Um, sort of?” Al said with a soft chuckle, “He's still asleep.”

Roy let out a chuckle, “Well, is it okay if I wait for him to get up?”

Al sent him a weird look, “Is your house really that boring?” He asked, confused as to why this teen would want to _wait_ for his brother to wake up.

“Yes, it really is.” Roy answered with ease. “And my best friend is busy doing whatever with his girlfriend, so I thought I'd come pester Edward.”

Al rolled his eyes, “Fine, come on in.” Al said, moving to the side so Roy could come in. “But don't complain when he's out for two more hours.”

 


	3. Lego House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphonse and Winry fill Roy in on why Ed is the way he is, to the best of their ability. Because they don't know what happened either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter that much, but I am too lazy to edit it.

"Come in." Al said, moving slightly so that Roy could walk inside.

"Let's sit in the living room," Al said. "I want to talk to you before you go up and see Edward."

"Ok." Roy said as he followed the younger Elric.

Something was definitely amiss.

-

In the room upstairs to the left, Edward slept soundly.

The early afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, illuminating everything in the room. The light made everything sparkle, especially the sleeping form of Edward. In the sunlight, the boys golden blonde hair shined like no other.

Slowly, long eyelashes fluttered, Edward's amber coloured irises came into view. Squinting at the bright light, Edward began to rub the sleep out of his eyes. _'Ugh, why's the sun so bright?'_ Edward though as he sat up, stretching slowly. It was then that Edward noticed his surroundings, his brows furrowed for a minute as he wondered where he was. _'Wait...'_ he thought, _'Why am I in Al's room…?'_

The memories of last night then hit Edward, he had a terrifying nightmare and in the middle of the night he sought the comfort of his younger brother. Letting his face fall into his hands, Edward began to recall the terror of his nightmare. He was in a dark basement calling for a girl named Nina, blood covered the floor in large puddles, and there was a man that sent chills up his spin…

Something about this scared Edward, it made his heart race and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Many minutes passed by before Edward moved, his mind was consumed by the dream. Who was Nina? Why was she so important to him? Edward thought through the memories of his childhood for an answer. The memories of his childhood were blurry and scattered, many years were missing. Especially his early years, from age five to almost seven were a mystery to him.

It was as if he didn't exist then.

A sigh passed through his lips, he then slowly rose from the bed. It was time for him to get ready.

-

"So you think the nightmare is a clue to what happened to Edward?"

In the living room, Al and Roy were in a deep discussion about Edward. Al had informed Roy of Edward's most recent nightmare. The two teens were currently discussing the connection Al believed there was between the nightmares and Edward's cryptic past.

Al nodded. "You see he's had these nightmares since he stopped talking." He said. "They were really bad when we were little, but as we've gotten older they've gotten better."

Running a hand through his hair, Al sighed. "But they've gotten worse since our Mom passed." He said in a soft voice.

"Maybe the nightmares will piece together the puzzle." Roy said as he rested his elbows on his knees and placed his chin on his hands.

"That's what I think."

The two turned towards the new voice entering the conversation. Both slightly surprised to see Winry was the one that had spoken, as she had been quiet throughout the conversation.

"I think," The blonde started. "While Edward doesn't seem to remember what happened to him he's still subconsciously aware of it." Winry said.

"You may very well be right." Al said, resting his elbows on his knees and placing his chin on his hands. "I think Edward's mind is still subconsciously aware of it but Edward isn't." Al then let out a laugh, "That doesn't really make any sense."

Roy chuckled, "I believe it does, it just sounds weird." He then paused for a moment. "I have a friend who is studying psychology; you might want to talk to him about these theories."

"I would!" Al said, a smile gracing his lips.

"I'll give him your number the next time I see him," Roy said.

"Ok," Al said. "Here let me write it down for you."

Grabbing a pen and paper off the coffee table, Al began to scribble his cell phone number down. He was excited about speaking to someone new about his brother. The psychologists in Central just thought Edward was a deviant child; they were no help to him.

Maybe now, someone new and younger would think differently of Edward.

Maybe, just maybe, he could help fix the puzzle that was his older brother.

Maybe.

-

Upstairs, Edward was just finishing up his shower.

Edward stood in shower a few minutes more, not yet ready to get out. The warm water felt good to him, it relaxed his tense muscles. The nightmare had left him feeling stressed, not from the lack of sleep but from the fact that he didn't know what it was about. Was it a memory or was it truly a terror his mind had created to haunt him. He did not, and would not, know.

Sighing, Edward turned off the shower. The water came to a halt and Edward watched as the remaining water slid down the drain. He soon exited the shower, careful of the slightly wet floor. Grabbing a towel from the rack Edward quickly wrapped it around his waist.

It was then that he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror.

Nothing was all that different, he looked the same as usual. Long blonde hair that hung past his shoulders, thick bangs that framed his face. Creamy beige coloured skin that was littered with scars. He was use to the scars, he can't remember a time where he didn't have them, but today the scars intrigued him. Maybe it was dream that awakened the interest, or maybe it was how much darker they looked in the steamy bathroom. He didn't know, he just knew that today they stood out to him. Today they just seemed to bother him.

Leaning closer to the mirror, Edward slowly ran a finger against the long scars on his cheek. The skin was bumpy and rough, it made Edward cringe slightly. He didn't like its texture. His fingers then moved, slowly running a hand across his neck. A think band of scarred skin ran across his neck, almost like a collar... The skin was slightly sunken in, almost as though a layer of skin had been ripped off. Unlike the scars on his face, this scar was smooth to the touch. Edward ran his fingers a crossed it several time, just wondering what could make such an awful scar.

Edward explored every single one of his scars, feeling the texture of it and pondering what would make said scar.

-

"Edward must be awake." Al said suddenly.

The group of teens were now in the kitchen, Al and Roy sitting at the table while Winry was pondering through the cupboards.

"Why do you say that?" Roy asked.

"I hear the upstairs floor creaking." Al said, "Edward must either be getting ready to take a shower or he just got out of one."

Roy let out a chuckle. "You are really aware of the noise going on around you." He said. "I wouldn't have even noticed that noise had you not said something."

Al smiled slightly. "Well," Al said. "When you grow up in a pretty quiet home it happens."

"I can see that." Roy said. He was quiet for a moment, thinking through what he wanted to say. "Speaking of your childhood," He said, careful of his words. "What was it like growing up with a sibling like Edward?"

"Different to say the least." Al said. "Our house was very quiet, even when Edward would get hurt not a sound would escape his lips..."

Roy's brows furrowed in confusion, was Edward truly that silent? "Really?" Roy asked.

"Yes…" Al said in a sad tone. "His laugh is silent; his cries are silent, even when he screams it is silent…" He paused momentarily. "Edward is completely silent."

"Wow…" Roy said. He understood what mute meant, but he did not know Edward was that mute. 'I have got to call Maes when I get home, he would love to learn about this...' Roy thought, making a mental note to call his best friend.

"Hey guys, what would you like for lunch?" Winry asked, interrupting the slightly depressing conversation.

Al smiled as he turned his attention to Roy, "Well you're the guest Roy," He said. "You decide!"

"What are my choices?" Roy asked.

Winry brought a finger to her chin in a pondering manner. "Cheese burgers, PB and J, soup, or grilled cheese…" She said, naming off the choices.

"Hmm, cheese burgers." He decided.

The blonde nodded as she walked over to the refrigerator and began to pull the ingredients out.

It was then that Al heard footsteps enter the room; he turned around and saw his older brother enter the room. A smile graced his tan face, and despite the night they had the blonde genuinely seemed happy.

"Hello brother!" Al said, "Did you sleep well?"

Edward nodded, he then noticed his raven haired friend sitting across from his brother. He quickly rushed his way over to the other side of the table, quickly stealing the seat next to Roy. Roy merely chuckled at thus behaviour, "Well hello to you too!" Roy said.

Edward nodded, a silent way of saying _'hello'_.

Roy merely smiled at the action, not sure what to say to the blonde.

Edward then turned to his brother; he quickly signed something to Al. And Roy merely watched in amazement at how Al could understand such fast hand motions. 'Note to self: get sign language book and teach self.' Roy thought to himself.

"Winry is making cheeseburgers for us." Al said with a smile.

"They should be done here in about ten minutes!" Winry said as she flipped the meat patties. A loud sizzle could be heard throughout the kitchen as the raw side of the meat hit the pan.

And soon the group of teens were enjoying a nice lunch, they chatted and laughed. All in all, they were having a good time.

But Edward felt different, he felt almost left out. He knew that his brother and friends were not intentionally leaving him out. But when you can't talk it makes it difficult to interject in conversation.

He hated being mute.


	4. Tightrope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed's nightmares are getting worse. Roy thinks Maes may be able to help him. And Al and Winry snoop into Ed's dream journal.

Two weeks had passed since Ed and Al had moved to Resembool. The suitcases they had brought with them now sat empty in the hall closet, all unpacked. The rooms they now called their own began to come together. And the two brothers were beginning to get in the swing of life in a small town.

And as these two weeks passed by, Edward's nightmares became worse and worse.

Al came up with the idea of Edward keeping a journal where he would write the dreams down, thinking that maybe if Edward wrote them down they would be able to piece together the event that caused his brother to go mute. Al swore he would not read the journal without his brother's permission.

And surprisingly Edward agreed to the idea.

However, neither brother knew how many entries would be written in such a short span of time.

-

It was a humid July afternoon, too hot to do anything outside.

Inside the Mustang-Hawkeye household, Roy was hanging out in his bedroom with one of his good friends. The two weren't doing much, aside from sitting in front of the fan to try and beat the heat. Summers in Resembool were rather hot; the heat was almost unbearable sometimes.

"Hughes, you really need to meet these guys that moved in with Winry."

Hughes lay sprawled out on the floor, the wooden floor beneath him felt good against his sweaty skin. Hughes was a year older than Roy, two months away from starting his schooling at the local university. He had short black hair which he kept slicked back to keep his bangs out of his face. His eyes were a warm chocolaty colour and were kept hidden by thin square glasses. Hughes's turned to his long-time friend, "And why is that?" He asked.

Roy sat up beside him, the fan sat a few feet in front of him and he enjoyed the cool air that was hitting him. "Because, you'd be interested in the condition my new friend has." He said with a small smile. "Plus, I told his brother about how you were interested in psychology and stuff and he wants to talk to you."

"Really?" Hughes's said, his voice holding a new tone full of curiosity. "Tell me about your new friend."

Roy's smile softened a bit. "His name is Edward," he started. "And he's been mute for more than ten years." Roy's voice fell a bit towards the end. Even though he hadn't known Edward for very long, the fact that Edward couldn't speak still saddened him.

Hughes's eyes widened a bit, he was both shocked and curious at what his friend had just told him. "Wow." Hughes said, it was all he was able to think of.

Roy sighed. "I know..." He said. "His brother told me that he hasn't spoken since he was six…"

"So I'm assuming it was caused by trauma then?" Hughes asked. He only had his foot in the door of psychology, taking a few college classes his senior year of high school **(1)**. But he knew quite a few things about trauma and what it does to one's mind. After all, his major was psychology and he was studying to become a psychologist.

"That's what his brother believes…" Roy said.

Hughes's brows furrowed a bit, "What do you mean by 'he believes'?" He asked, putting air quotes around _'he believes'_.

Roy let out another sigh. "His brother doesn't really know what happened to him…" He started, "You see, Edward doesn't remember what happened to him…"

"But surely the parents know what happened to him." Hughes said.

"Well their mother is deceased and the Dad isn't around." Roy said. "Plus they both said it wasn't their story to tell."

"And why doesn't his brother just look it up on the internet?" Hughes asked.

"I think Al want's Edward to tell him..." Roy said.

"I see…" Hughes said.

"He'd like to talk to you about some things though," Roy said. "If you'd like to go over there..."

Hughes sat up and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm up for it if you are." He said.

"Well let's head on over." Roy said as stood up, stretching his shoulders a bit. A wide smile was spread across his face. Sure. He loved spending time with his best friend. But he wanted to see his new friend Edward.

-

Edward lay sprawled out on his floor, his skin shiny with sweat. His long hair was in a high ponytail, trying to keep the thick hairs away from his skin. His clothes were very light, he wore a thin white tank top and a pair of navy coloured athletic shorts.

He was the perfect example of someone who was not use to the Resembool heat.

 _'Why is it so hot?'_ He thought with a groan. _'Central was never this hot…'_

The heat was making his lazy, he hadn't moved since eleven this morning. And it was going on two in the afternoon. But Edward didn't care, he was hot and he was tired. Nightmares had been keeping him up the past few nights, and while Al was comforting he missed his Mother. Al didn't understand the terrors his mind plagued him with, but his mother did. She understood his silence more; his mother did not need the sign language to understand him.

He missed the connection he had with his Mother.

Turning on his side, Edward grabbed a thick black notebook that lay beside him. Al had told him that he should use it to write down about his nightmares. It was a way to get them off his chest. He began to flip through the pages; they had filled up quicker than he imagined they would. The nightmares occurred frequently, almost every other night his sleep was disturbed. His amber eyes began to skim through the entries and after a few moments he let out a sigh and dropped the book beside him. He ran his hands through his thick bangs and let the cool air from the fan hit his face.

He just wanted the nightmares to stop.

-

A knock at the door interrupted the quiet afternoon in the Elric-Rockbell home.

"I'll get it!" Winry said, jumping up from her spot on the couch.

Opening the door, Winry was met with Roy and Hughes. She had to let out a chuckle, "I should've known it was you!" She said.

Hughes laughed as well, "I take it you're over here a lot?" He said.

Roy chuckled. "Yep!" He said.

"Come on it!" Winry said, "We don't want the hot air in the house."

The two teens nodded and walked inside.

-

Upstairs, Edward was not handling the heat well at all.

The high pony tail he had made had now turned into a bun, which made him look almost feminine. He was in the same clothes, but if he weren't so self-conscious about his scars he would've ditched his shirt.

He was tired, but the heat made it hard to fall asleep.

He was getting grumpy.

And just as he was about to doze off, he heard Al call for him.

"Brother!" He heard Al's tiny voice call for him from downstairs. "Come downstairs!"

 _'No.'_ He thought. _'I am fine up here.'_

A few minutes passed by, and Edward was once again right about to doze off. His mind was almost asleep….

"Brother!"

_Ugh._

Edward slowly opened his golden iris, only to be met with the face of his younger brother.

"Brother, you need to come downstairs!" Al said, his voice holding a motherly tone.

Edward shook his head, much like a fussy toddler who did not want to take his nap. Al sighed, putting his hands on his hips.

"Fine," He said. "Then I'll just tell Roy that you don't want to see him."

At the mention of Roy Edward quickly shot up from the floor, quickly signing something to him brother.

_'Roy is here?'_

Al nodded. "He's waiting downstairs with his friend named Maes."

Al could only chuckle as he watched his brother fly down the stairs.

"Silly Edward…" He said as he shook his head.

-

"So you guys have been best friends since you were little?" Winry asked.

In the living room, Winry sat in the big chair while Maes and Roy sat on the couch. The three were talking and getting to know each other. Well, Maes was getting to know Winry. As Winry and Roy knew each other fairly well since Winry was best friends with Roy's younger sister.

"Since we were toddlers." Maes said with a smile.

"Yeah, I remember-" Roy started when something suddenly flew into his lap.

Looking down, Roy could only chuckle. "You know," Roy said. "For someone who can't talk you sure do know how to make an entrance."

Edward sat in his lap, his golden eyes staring into Roy's cobalt blue iris. Edward's grumpy demeanour had melted away into a cheerful attitude. Roy just smiled at the boy, not really knowing what to say to him. It was then that he noticed Edward's new hair-do and he had to let out a laugh. "I like your new do." He said with a chuckle. "I'm assuming it's because of the heat?"

Edward just nodded.

"I'm assuming this is Edward." Maes said, observing the two beside him.

Edward turned at the sound of a new voice and then turned back to Roy. Grabbing the onyx haired teen's hand, he traced his words into his palm.

_'Who is that?'_

Maes watched closely, observing the blonde's behaviour. He was greatly intrigued by Edward, especially in the way he was communicating to Roy.

"That is Maes Hughes." He said. "He is my best friend."

"Hiya Edward!" Hughes said cheerily.

Edward merely smiled, before turning his gaze towards Roy. Roy didn't need Edward to write words into his hands for this, his amber coloured irises spoke volumes.

"Yes Edward," Roy said. "He does know that you're mute."

"It's okay Edward," Hughes said in a kind tone. "I don't care that you can't talk."

Edward let out a sigh of relief, he was still a little afraid that he would be treated like he was in Central. People were mean in Central; they thought it was weird that he couldn't talk. They were cruel and hurtful. Edward was happy that the people in Resembool were more accepting.

"Um, Edward…" Roy said, blushing slightly. "Could you, maybe, move out of my lap?"

Edward's cheeks turned a rosy colour and he quickly moved to sit beside Roy.

The room was awkwardly quiet for a moment, all eyes on Roy and Edward.

Hughes decided to break the silence. "Hey Edward," He said. "Do you want to see some pictures of my little sister?" He asked, his tone holding a cheery tone.

"Hughes," Roy said, "Please don't torture the poor boy."

"But how could he resist the cuteness of little Elysia?!" Hughes screeched, shoving a picture of a little girl in the raven haired teens face.

Edward pushed himself to the edge of the couch, desperately trying to avoid having a picture shoved in his face.

Winry just watched the comical scene unfold before her, laughing slightly. But she could only wonder where Al had gone off to, as the sandy haired teen had not returned from upstairs. She quietly slipped out of the living room to go search for her boyfriend.

-

 _'I shouldn't be doing this…'_ Al thought to himself. _'But I really want to know…'_

Alphonse stood in his older brother's room, the thick black journal in his hands.

 _'I told brother I wouldn't read it unless he gave me permission…'_ He thought.

"But I really want to know about the dreams…" He whispered to himself.

And slowly, he opened the journal.

Al took a seat on the edge of Edward's bed and began to read the book.

 _'Brother please don't be mad at me…'_ He thought. _'I just want to help you…'_

-

Winry trotted up the stairs, ignore the noises she heard coming from the living room.

"Al!" She called. "Where are you?"

All that met her was silence.

Winry looked in Alphonse's room, he wasn't there.

"Hm," She said. "Where could he be?"

It was then that she peered into Edward's room; she was surprised to find Al sitting on the bed reading a book.

"There you are." She said as she walked into Edward's messy room.

The sound of her voice broke Al out of his trance. "Oh, hey Winry." He said with a smile.

"What are you reading?" She asked, taking a seat next to her boyfriend. She placed her arm around Al's shoulders.

"Oh, um…" Al said, getting slightly flustered. "Look don't tell Edward but.."

"You're reading his dream journal, aren't you?" Winry said.

Al hung his head in shame, "Yes." He said.

"Alphonse Elric!" Winry said, her voice cross as placed her hands onto her hips in a very motherly fashion. "You promised Edward you wouldn't read it unless he gave you permission!"

"I know!" Al said. "But Winry, I can't stand to see him suffer!" He cried out.

Winry's blue eyes soften at her boyfriend's reaction.

"Winry, I just want to help him…." Al said, his voice sounding defeated. "But I can't unless I know what happens in his dreams…"

Winry could only watch as her boyfriend battled the inner turmoil going on inside him.

She felt just as helpless as he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, past self didn't think through this dream journal stuff into how it'll effect chapters later on.


	5. The Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hughes scares the shit out of Ed.

Hughes could not take his eyes off of Edward.

He was not staring at him in a creepy way; it was more of a gaze of curiosity. Hughes was just so intrigued by Edward, his mutism, and the way he communicated with Roy. It just intrigued him and he wanted to know more about Edward. He wanted to know what caused Edward to go mute and what had traumatized him so much that he could no longer speak. Hughes had not yet had the opportunity to speak to Alphonse about Edward, as the boy had not yet returned from upstairs. But that did not stop Hughes's thirst for knowledge about Edward's mutism.

He watched as Edward and Roy seemed to have a conversation, but it was very hard to follow when he could only hear Roy's side of the conversation. Hughes wondered how Roy was able to communicate with the blonde when he literally traced words into Roy's hand. It perplexed him greatly. And yet, Roy seemed to perfectly understand the teen.

"Edward," Hughes said suddenly, breaking his long silence. He watched as Edwards golden eyes turned from Roy to him. Edward cocked his head to the side as if he were saying 'yes?' "Forgive me for asking, but do you know why exactly you are mute?" He asked, fully aware of the boundaries he was stepping over.

But he wanted to know what happened, he wanted to help Edward.

Roy shot him a death glare. "Maes…" He said his voice mimicking a mother's warning tone. Hughes merely brushed it off; his attention was fully on Edward. Hughes watched as the gears in Edwards mind seemed to turn, searching the deep cavities of his mind for an answer. After a few minutes had passed, Ed let out a sigh of defeat and shook his head. A soft smile spread across Hughes's lips, "It's ok, Ed." Hughes said in a supportive tone. "I have a few more questions for you," he started "would you be willing to answer them for me?"

Edward looked at Hughes for a moment, taking in the older teen's appearance. He thought back to his childhood, the little he remembered of it, these questions seemed rather familiar… Like when he had to talk to many psychologists. Was Hughes's really a psychologist? Taking hold of Roy's hand once more, Edward began to press worlds into the ebony haired teen's palm.

"Edward…" Hughes started slowly. "What does it feel like when you try to speak?" Hughes asked.

Edward remained still for a moment, trying to think of the last time he tried to speak. He racked his brain, trying to think of the last time he spoke. Just how many years had it been? Edward was surprised that the everyday act of speaking seemed so foreign to him that he could no longer remember the last time he spoke or what his own voice even sounded like. As he broke from his thoughts he grabbed Roy's hand and began to trace words into his palm, his own form of speaking. Roy remained still to the touch, paying close attention to the lines Edward drew on his palm to make sure he understood exactly what the blonde wanted to say.

"I don't know. I haven't tried to talk in so long." Roy answered for him.

"Well, could you try for us?" Hughes asked. He knew he was crossing many lines but he wanted to help Edward. He wanted to crack the case that was Edward Elric. He wanted the blonde to have a voice again. Hughes could tell Edward's mutism caused him pain; it was blatant in the way the blonde acted.

" _Hughes_ …" Roy said in a deadly tone. "What. are. you. doing?"

Hughes chose to ignore Roy's deathly tone, his emerald eyes fully focused on Edward. He watched as the blonde paled at his request and he sent the blonde a supportive smile. "Just try to say your name, ok?" Maes said, his tone calm and comforting. All he wanted to do was see what would happen when the boy tried to speak. His reaction would help him figure just what had happen to the teen, and once Maes knew what happened to Edward, he would try to help him as much as he could. Hughes wanted the best for Edward, despite only just meeting him. People like Edward were the reason why Hughes wanted to become a psychologist in the first place, he wanted to help people who had been through trauma and had lingering affects.

Edward slowly nodded, taking a deep breath. Shakily, he pressed his lips together. Thinking of how his name sounded, the syllables it contained and how it was pronounced, he took in another ragged breath, preparing to say his name. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue, ready to be heard. He could feel his lips moving slowly, the letter 'E' on the tip of his tongue …

A dark shuddering voice entered his mind suddenly.

_"Don't you dare say a word."_

His throat felt tight.

_"If you talk, I will kill you."_

His hands were shaking. Tears stung at his eyes.

_"If you utter a word, I will slit your throat."_

He couldn't breathe.

_"I will kill you."_

_'I can't breathe!'_ He thought.

"Edward!"

Frantic golden eyes flew open, only to be met with equally frantic cobalt eyes. Roy's eyes were wide, fear visible in them, his mouth agape. Edward wanted to let him know that he was fine, but his throat felt tight and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He could hear his own shuttering breaths coming in and out in a jagged manner. He was scared, scared of the voice that entered his head. But just who was that…? It sounded like the man in his nightmares, the man whose face was always out of focus in the terrorizing dreams. This faceless man was the one who would do terrible things to him in his dreams, he'd abuse him in anyway he could. He'd burn him, beat him, cut him; he'd find any way to hurt Edward. This thought only made Edward panic more, he could hear his breaths get even more ragged and felt tears began to wield up in his eyes.

"Roy," Hughes said, "He's hyperventilating." His voice was calm, but if you listened carefully you could hear the terror hiding underneath it. Hughes felt terrible; he was the reason the blonde had freaked out. Had Hughes not asked him to try to speak, Edward would not be in this state of panic. Hughes now knew just how bad Edward's mutism was; it was to the point that he'd go into a panic if he tried to speak. Whatever had happened to Edward must've been pretty horrific.

"I think he's having a panic attack, Hughes!" Roy said, wanting to help Edward, but he didn't know what to do. He felt utterly helpless.

"Roy, I need you to calm him down." Hughes said. He noticed the helpless look on his friends face, as though he had no idea what he wanted him to do. Hughes just let out a soft sigh; speaking in a soft manner he said, "Just comfort him Roy..."

Roy nodded before turning his attention back to his friend. Edward's skin was pale and Roy could see droplets of sweat on his forehead. His body was trembling so hard that it was visible to the naked eye.

"I'm going to get Alphonse." Hughes said. "Just calm him down, ok?"

Roy nodded and watched as Hughes walked out of the living room and quickly walked up the stars. This was not good, not good at all. Hughes had just left him alone with Edward in the height of a panic attack and Roy was clueless as to what to do. All Hughes told him to do was get him to calm down, but how? Roy had no idea what to do, just how do get someone to calm down from a panic attack? Roy felt like he was going to have a panic attack himself, the sight of Edward in one absolutely terrified him. Watching him struggle to breath properly was downright scary.

"Edward…" Roy said, kneeling down in front of him. "I need you to calm down..." He said slowly, trying to hide how scared he was.

Edward didn't react; it was as though he could not hear Roy. His golden eyes did not meet Roy's, they were focused on something else. Something that was invisible to everyone but Edward. Whatever it was that Edward was seeing, Roy could see that it paralyzed him with fear.

"Take deep breaths, Edward." Roy said, suddenly grasping the boy's hands into his own. "I'm here, it's ok Edward."

Roy watched as the blonde took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, he smiled slightly "That's it, just like that." He said.

Edward continued to take deep breaths just like Roy instructed him to, listening to Roy's supportive words guide him back to reality. Slowly, his breathing was beginning to return to normal. Roy smiled faintly. "That's it Edward," He said. "Just keep taking deep breaths." He began to rub his thumb against the back of Edward's hand, a silent way of supporting the blonde. "I'm here for you." He said softly, hoping this would help console him. Edward took in another deep breath, his shaking beginning to subside, his mind slowly coming back to reality. Edward no longer heard the voice of the man that haunted his nightmares. The only voice he heard was Roy's velvety soft voice whispering words of comfort to him. Blinking a few times, Edward began to take in the current situation. He was at home, in the living room with Roy, not in a cold basement with the man who had a creepily soft voice.

"Ed?" Roy asked. The blonde was starting to scare him. He was no longer having a panic attack, but he was still acting odd.

Suddenly, Edward flung his body into Roy's arms, a silent cry escaping his lips. Roy welcomed him, tightly wrapping his arms around the terrified teen's body, whispering soft words of comfort into his ear. Edward buried his face in the crook of Roy's neck, his petite body began to tremor and Roy knew Edward was crying. His only reaction was to tighten his hold on the boy, desperately trying to console the terrified teen. He wanted to comb his fingers through Ed's long hair, but he did not want to overstep his boundaries. Instead, Roy opted to hold the boy close to him and whisper comforting words into his ear. Reassuring Edward that everything was ok, he was at home and he had nothing to fear, that he was there and he would not let anything happen to him.

"It's ok…" Roy whispered, "I'm here for you."

Edward only clung tighter to the man that was slowly becoming his security.

-

Upstairs, Al sat silently on Edward's bed with his head in his hands. Winry sat beside him, her head resting on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Both teens had solemn expressions; all feelings of joy were void of them. Al looked utterly defeated. His eyes were dead to all emotion, while Winry looked as though she were on the verge of tears.

"I wish…" Al started, his voice shaky and choked. "I wish…I had never read that."

Winry didn't speak; she had nothing to say that would make this situation better. None of her words would make Al or herself feel better.

"I can't believe it…" He stopped, collecting himself before he spoke again. "And that's not even the end!" He cried out, tears threatening to spill over. Al refused to let them fall, he would not cry, he had to remain collected. Edward could never know that they read his journal. Edward would be furious, and Al did not want to witness his older brother angry. When Edward was mad, it was almost scary. And Al really didn't want his brother to be mad at him. Their fights were bad, and sometimes they ended physically. They never really hurt one another; it was more of a sparring type of fight. Since Edward couldn't communicate his anger through words, he would through martial arts type of fighting. Both boys had taken classes when they were younger, so it wasn't as though they really could hurt one another. But he still didn't want to end up in that type of fight with his brother.

Al was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Winry wrap her arms around his neck, placing a chaste kiss on his cheeks. He smiled slightly, nuzzling his face in her neck, placing a soft kiss on her collarbone. "I love you…" He whispered softly, twirling his fingers in Winry's delicate locks. A soft blush dusted Winry's cheeks, a smile forming on her lips "I love you too…" She said in a soft tone. She softly combed her fingers through Al's caramel colored hair, a silent way to comfort him. Winry knew that Trisha would do the same to the boys when they were upset, and it was an action that comforted both Elric brothers equally.

"I wish I could forget what I just read…" Al said in a whisper, his voice a few pitches higher than normal.

"I know…" Winry said. "It was so awful…"

Al closed his eyes, trying to forget the pain his brother had gone through. Oh how he wished he could just forget he ever read the journal, he should've just waited for the memories to come back to Edward and have him tell the horror story. Knowing why Edward was mute….It made Alphonse want to cry. "I wish it would've happened to me…" Al whispered, "instead of him."

Winry didn't say a word. It was not her place to speak right now.

"I would do anything to take that pain away from him…" Al said, his voice low. "It should've been me."

He felt the tears stinging his eyes, dangerously close to spilling over. "He didn't deserve that pain!" Al cried out, "It never should've happen to him!"

"Al…" Winry whispered, she had never witnessed her boyfriend in such distress.

Al wrapped his arms around Winry's neck, while she switched her hold on Al's neck to his waist and pulled him close to her chest. Neither spoke, there were no words to be spoken. Nothing Winry said would make Al feel better, and she was just as upset as he was. So the two opted for silence and human contacted to comfort them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both teens jumped at the voice, quickly separating from one another. The two blushing teens looked up to see Maes Hughes standing in the doorway.

A fake smile formed on Al's lips, "Hey Hughes!" Al said, attempting to sound cheerful.

"You guys look just as bad as Edward does..." Hughes said, slowly walking into the room.

At the mention of his brother in distress Al immediately turned into a mother hen. "What's wrong with Ed?" Al asked, concern heavy in his voice.

Hughes sighed, pinching his nose between his fingers. "I may have…overstepped some walls Edward has.." Hughes said quietly. "I was asking him some questions and he had a panic attack." Hughes watched as Al's eyes went wide with both anger and concern, "Roy is with him and is working on calming him down." Hughes said, trying to make the bad situation sound better. He watched Al's expression carefully, trying to know when the younger Elric would try to kill him. To his surprise, Al merely muttered a 'thanks for telling me' before rushing out of the room.

"Just what exactly did you ask?" Winry asked suddenly.

Hughes sighed, "Look, before I tell you anything please know that I am studying to be a psychologist." Hughes started. "Specifically I want to work with people who have been through traumatic events, like Edward." He paused momentarily, watching Winry's reaction. "So, I was asking him some questions about his mutism…." He paused once more, waiting to see if she had connected two and two together yet. "And so… I asked him what it felt like when he tried to speak, and when he said he couldn't remember…well I asked-" He would've gone further, but Winry had finally put two and two together and threw a thick book at Hughes's head. Hughes's fell back against the hardwood floor with a loud 'thud'.

"Are you stupid!" Winry shouted, jumping up from the bed. "Edward hasn't spoken in _eleven_ years!" She shouted. "He hasn't muttered a single word since he left the hospital when he was _six_!"

Sitting up slowly, Hughes stayed silent. He knew he had messed up. He really felt bad for causing Edward to go into a panic. He should've just waited to talk to Alphonse first.

"Next time," She started. "Talk to Alphonse about Ed before you go straight to Edward."

"I'm sorry." Hughes said, "I should've talked to Al first…" He said.

"Al knows _everything_ about Edward…" Winry said. "Al knows every little thing there is to him, Al is Edward's anchor." She said. A soft smile graced her lips, "Those two are stuck like glue!" She said with a soft chuckle.

"So I've heard!" Hughes said, slowly getting up from the floor.

-

Rushing down the stairs, Al feared the worst for his brother. Edward always had bad panic attacks when they were little, and Al feared that this panic attack would be just as bad.

But the sight that awaited him in the living room was not what he expected to see.

Roy was sitting on the couch with Edward clinging to him like his life depended on it, while Roy's arms were tightly wrapped around the blonde. Ed had buried his face in Roy's neck, his arms wrapped around the ebony haired teen's neck.

Alphonse felt relief wash over him. The panic attack was not what he had feared it was. Edward had already calmed down. With a smile on his face he walked into the living room, chuckling slightly at the scene before him. "Hey Roy," Al said with a slight chuckle.

"Hey." Roy said softly, "Mind helping me out here?" Roy asked, pointing to the teen that was clinging to him like a leech.

"Did he fall asleep?" Al said with a chuckle, walking towards the couch.

"I don't know." Roy said. "He hasn't moved in the past twenty minutes…"

"He probably fell asleep, he falls asleep really easily." Al said. "He sure warmed up to you!" Al said with a chuckle.

Roy smiled. "Yeah…" He said, not mentioning the events that happened prior to Al coming in.

" _Edwaaaard_ …." Al whined, poking his older brothers arm. "Wake uuuuuuup."

Slowly, golden eyes peeked from behind heavy lids. Groggily, Edward began to rub the sleep from his eyes, letting out a quiet yawn as he did so. Looking up, he saw his younger brother standing beside him. But it didn't look like he was in his bedroom…?

It was then he remembered the events that had unfolded earlier, how Hughes was asking him many questions that eventually led to him having a panic attack. He shuddered, remembering the creepy voice that had entered his mind.

"Ed?" A velvety soft voice spoke, bringing Edward out of his trance.

It was then that Edward realized that he was sitting on Roy's lap, his arms wrapped tightly around the raven-haired teen's neck. A blush rapidly appeared on the blonde's cheeks as he quickly moved from Roy's lap to the spot next to him. The other two teens merely laughed at Edward's reaction, Roy was slightly surprised at how embarrassed Edward could get around him. Edward really didn't seem like the shy type at all, but looks can be deceiving. Edward sent the teens a glare in response to their chuckles, he wasn't really mad at them it was Al just goofing off.

It was then that Edward grabbed Roy's hand, earning a startled yelp from his friend. He merely traced two simple words into Roy's palm: _'Thank you.'_

Al only smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That summary is so shitty lol, just trying to not give what happens away.


	6. I'm Still Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hughes feels bad, the gang goes swimming, and Edward laughes

"Ed, I'm _really_ sorry." Hughes said, his voice sincere.

The group of teens sat in the living room, all occupying different portions of the room. Roy and Edward sat on the couch, content with its soft plush material. Al and Winry sat on the small love seat located to the left of the couch in a small corner of the room, his arm draped over Winry's lithe shoulders. Meanwhile, Maes opted to relax in the large plush chair that sat in the right hand corner of the room. All in all, everyone was content.

Edward merely shrugged his shoulders, a silent gesture that implied he was not mad at Hughes. In all honesty, he wasn't mad at the man. Hughes did not mean to cause the panic attack; he would not hold the accident against his new friend. He was not going to dwell over the incident. It happened and now it was over and that's how he was going to view it.

Hughes understood Edward's gesture; his shrug meant that he was forgiven. A smile graced the man's lips. "Thank you," he said.

Everyone was silent for a moment, just enjoying the others' company, the only sound in the room being the low hum of the fan.

Winry was the first to break the silence, speaking something that was on everyone's mind. "It's _hoooot_." She whined, fanning herself with her hand in a desperate attempt to cool off.

"It's way too hot in here…" Al said, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Well, we could go to the pool..." Hughes suggested, the thought of wading in the cool water sounding awfully refreshing.

"Oh yeah," Winry said. "I forgot about the local swimming pool."

"We could go there and hang out for awhile." Roy suggested, turning his attention to the small blonde sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "What do you think, Ed?"

Edward nodded, a wide smile across his face. His small bun had moved nearly to the top of his head, a desperate attempt to get the thick locks off of his neck.

"Well, I think we all agree that the pool sounds like a good idea." Al said. "So let's do it!"

"Well, Maes and I are going to go back to my house and get ready." Roy said, getting up from his spot on the couch. "We'll meet you back here in maybe, half an hour?" He suggested, Maes getting up to stand by his friend's side.

"Sounds good!" Al said. "We'll work out the driving arrangements when you come back here."

"See you guys in half an hour." Roy said, walking towards the front door with Maes following closely behind him. He stopped momentarily, his hand hovering over the doorknob. "Bye Edward," Roy said in a velvety sweet voice. He watched as Edward smiled, merely waving his hand up in response to his friend. The two teens then left, closing the door quietly behind them.

"So what do you think of him?" Roy asked suddenly, looking out for cars as they crossed the street.

"He's definitely different." Hughes said, his voice holding a more serious tone that usual. "You two get along really well, though."

"He's a pretty interesting guy." Roy said, his voice holding that same velvety tone he used when he bid farewell to his quiet friend.

"You so like him!" Hughes said, his voice holding its usual goofy tone.

"H-He's just a friend, Hughes!" Roy said defensively, a soft blush appearing on his cheeks.

Hughes merely chuckled, "Right..." He said, following his best friend inside his second home. He chose to ignore Roy's comment about how he was going to kill him, merely shrugging it off.

-

Al and Winry still sat in the living room. Edward had ventured upstairs in search of his swim trunks. It had only been a few minutes since Roy and Hughes left, they had plenty of time to get ready for their swimming adventure. But before they left to get ready, the two wanted some alone time to discuss the events that had occurred that day. Specifically, what they had read in Edward's journal.

"I just can't believe what happened." Al said, a sigh leaving his lips. He felt so many things about the trauma that his brother had endured, he really couldn't think of anything more to say.

"His mutism…" Winry mumbled. "It makes more sense now."

"His scars make more sense now." Al added. "Everything about Edward makes sense now."

"Especially his quirks." Winry said. Al knew exactly what quirks she was talking about, since Edward had quite a few of them. He didn't like basements, big dogs frightened him, he refused to use big steak knifes, and he wasn't comfortable with people getting in his personal space without his permission. These weren't all of his quirks; these were just the quirks that stood out to most people. And then of course, there was his mutism. But now Al knew why Edward had these quirks, he knew why his brother was the way he was.

Basements scared Edward because he was held captive in a basement.

Big dogs frightened him because the man who held him captive had a big dog.

He didn't use, or like, big steak knifes because that was his captor's primary weapon of choice on him.

Edward had a bubble because the man who held him captive had overstepped Edward's personal space.

"It's just not fair…" Al mumbled sadly. "He never deserved it..."

"I know." Winry said, wrapping her arm around Al in a comforting manner. It was hard to be supportive when you were feeling just as sad and disheartened as the person you were trying to comfort, but damn Winry was trying.

"You're hurting too." Al said, resting his head in the crook of her neck. "I know you are, I'm sorry I'm not comforting you." Al mumbled, placing a soft kiss on her neck. It was not passionate or sexy; it was just innocent.

"It's fine." Winry whispered, kissing Al's head softly. "It's harder for you, I understand." Winry paused momentarily, thinking through her words. "He's your older brother, you had to watch him go through all this pain; you had to watch him lose his voice." She paused once more, once again thinking through how she wanted to say something. "I haven't had to see Edward go through this, I've only known what has happened through letters and phone calls; you actually had to see him go through it."

"That doesn't mean you're not hurting." Al said, moving from his place in her arms. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her softly. Winry instantly melted into the kiss, her fingers tangling themselves in Al's soft caramel hair. The kiss was soft, sweet, and overall innocent. It only lasted for a few seconds before Al pulled away, whispering a soft "I love you."

-

Upstairs, Edward was having his own crisis. Clothes were strewn all over the already messy room while Edward sat in the middle of his floor digging through the pile of clothes.

He could not find his swim trunks. Just how could he go swimming without his swim trunks?

 _'It's not like the damn thing could walk away!'_ Edward thought as he dug through the pile. _'I just saw it the other day!'_

He let out a soundless sigh, falling back onto the hardwood floor. 'I wonder if Al know's where it is?' He thought, his brother always knew where stuff was. It was like he had the power mothers had to find lost items. It was kind of strange. But Al did act like their Mother….

Slowly he rose from the floor, deciding it was better to go ask his brother from help than make more of mess in his room.

Al probably had the damn swim trunks anyway, only sending his brother on a goose chase for them to humor him.

Inside of his room, Al was getting his stuff together for their afternoon at the pool. On his bed he had his swim trunks, a towel, some sunscreen, sunglasses, his wallet, and a large bag to put everything in. He was just about to change when he heard a knock at his door, "Come in!" Al said cheerily.

The door opened and Al was met with a glare from his older brother, taking a step inside the room Edward began signing words to Al in a furious manner. _'Where the hell is my swimsuit!'_ He signed angrily.

Al chuckled, "What are you talking about Brother?" He asked. Thoroughly confused as to what Edward was talking about.

Edward's glare only intensified, _'My swim trunks!'_ He signed, _'I can't find them! Where did you put them?!'_

"Oh!" Al said with chuckle, getting up from his spot on the bed. "I found them in my dresser," Al said as he walked to the large wooden chest in the corner of his room. "They must've gotten in my suitcase by accident." He said, opening the top drawer and pulling out a pair of bright red swim trucks with black trim on the sides. "Sorry about that brother." Al said, handing the trunks to his older sibling. Edward only huffed, slightly embarrassed that he had accused his brother of stealing swim trunks, he snatched the pair out of the younger's hand before leaving the room without so much as signing a _'thank you'_ to his brother.

Al chuckled, "He's a case." He muttered before returning back to his packing.

-

"You _so_ like him."

"So help me God if you don't stop saying that…"

"You're not denying it."

"Hughes, for the love of God, _shut up_."

Inside Roy's bedroom, Hughes and Roy were getting ready as well. It truly didn't take long for them to get ready; they were guys after all. It's not like they did all the prepping and such that girls did. Their only problem was finding Roy's spare swim trunks that Hughes could borrow, since Hughes didn't really feel like driving back to his house just to get some swim trunks. He wore the same size as Roy, and Roy supposedly had a spare swimsuit, so there was no reason to go back to his house. Hughes sat on Roy's bed, watching his best friend dig through his dresser for his extra swim trunks. He was having a ball teasing his friend, especially since he knew all the right buttons to push to annoying Roy.

"I found them!" Roy said happily, pulling out a pair of green trunks from the bottom drawer. "Here!" He said, tossing them over to his friend.

"Thanks!" Hughes said, watching as Roy pulled out his own pair of swim trunks. They were a vivid red color with orange and yellow stripes on the side. The ebony haired teen then pulled out another shirt, a thin looking white tank.

"Are you going to invite Riza?" He asked, mentioning Roy's younger sister.

"Oh yeah!" Roy said, turning around to face his friend,"Winry wanted me to invite her, they haven't hung out much since the Elrics came."

Hughes chuckled, "That's cause Winry's been all over Al." He said.

"I'll be right back." Roy said, setting the clothes on the end of his bed before walking out of his room.

-

Roy gently knocked on his little sisters door, a quick two taps on the wood. Roy heard a muffled 'coming!' before the younger opened the door, a smile gracing her lips, "Yes?" She asked.

"Want to go swimming?" Roy asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Who's going?" Riza asked.

"Hughes, Edward, Al, and Winry." Roy answered.

"How long do I have to get ready?" Riza asked.

Roy cocked his head to the left in a thinking manner. "Hmm, maybe twenty minutes." He answered.

"Ok!" Riza said. "I'll be ready in ten minutes!" She said, suddenly shutting the door in Roy's face.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Girls..." He muttered before walking back to his room.

-

"We'll have to take two cars if everyone wants to be comfortable." Hughes said.

Outside, everyone was standing on the Rockbell's porch trying to figure out the driving arrangements. Six people would not fit in one car, so two people would have to drive.

"I don't care to drive." Roy said, swinging his keys around in his hand. "My car is a tad on the small side though, only three people could fit comfortably."

"I'll drive." Al said with a smile, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket.

"So who wants to go with me?" Roy asked, glancing at the five other people occupying the porch.

Hughes let out a chuckle, "Well of course I'll be riding with you, Roy."

Roy laughed, "Well that was a go figure, Maes."

"Riza and I will ride with you, Al." Winry said, tightening her grip around her boyfriend's hand.

"Edward," Al said as he turned towards his brother. Edward was leaning against the railing, barely listening to the conversation going on. "Who do you want to ride with?"

Edward glanced between his brother and Roy a few times before he smiled and pointed at Roy. Roy only smiled at the boy, twirling his keys around his finger once more. Edward had just chosen him over his brother, for some reason this made Roy extremely happy.

"Well, I think we're ready to go!" Winry said with a smiled, walking towards Al's silver Mazda with Riza fallowing behind her. "C'mon Al!" She shouted. Al smiled at the girl before following her, twirling his keys around his finger. "Bye brother!" Al yelled, waving to his older brother before quickly making his way to his car.

"Well, let's get going." Roy said, quickly walking down the steep steps of the porch. Hughes and Edward quickly followed him.

"Hughes you're going to be sitting in the back." Roy said as the trio walked across the street.

"What!" Hughes shouted. "Roy that's not fair, Edward's smaller!"

Edward shot Hughes a glare, quickly signing something to the man. _'I am not small!'_ he signed despite the fact that Hughes didn't know sign language.

"Roy, what's Edward trying to tell me?" Hughes asked as they walked toward the Mustang family's garage. Edward stood beside him, glaring daggers at the elder.

"Well, I don't know sign language, but judging from Edward's reaction," Roy said as he turned towards Hughes. "I think you pissed him off when you said he was small." He answered. He then walked over to the door of his garage. He opened the keypad on the side of the wall and put in the password to open the door, which then began to slowly open.

"Just remember Hughes, you are sitting in the back." Roy said with a small smirk. Edward stood beside Roy in his usual silent self, silently wondering why it was such a big deal for Maes to sit in the back.

Hughes groaned, "Well then I have to get in first." He said, annoyed that he had lost his usual spot in Roy's car.

The garage door opened, revealing a shiny black 2011 Ford Mustang GT. Edward's mouth dropped, Roy had a _damn_ nice car for someone his age. Back in Central, most teenagers had a junky car that was at least five to ten years old. He wondered how Roy had such a nice car. Did his parents buy it for him? Or was Roy paying for it himself?

"Nice, huh?" Roy said, noticing Edward's surprised gaze. Most people had that reaction when they saw Roy's car, after all most teens did not have a twenty-five thousand dollar car.

Edward nodded, his eyes stuck on the shiny exterior of the car. Now he understood why Maes was making such a fuss about sitting in the back seat. It was quite a squeeze. The car wasn't very big inside, and while it did have a back, it wasn't very big. Edward turned his gaze to Roy, who was fumbling with his keys. Roy quickly pulled out the car key, pressing the unlock button on the device. A small sound was heard through the garage, signaling that the car had been unlocked.

"It's unlocked, Maes," Roy said, a smirk gracing his lips. "You have to get in first."

" _I know_." Hughes said in annoyed tone, opening the car door. Pushing down the front passenger seat, Hughes squeezed himself into the tiny backseat of the Mustang. "Roy, _I hate your damn car_." Hughes said as he slid into the backseat, buckling himself in.

Roy chuckled, watching as Maes pulled the passenger seat back to its normal spot. "Edward, you can get in now." Roy said, walking over to the driver side. He watched as Edward slowly nodded, taking his spot in the sporty car.

The car ride was relatively quiet, the only sound being the soft music that was escaping the radio. Hughes sat idly in the backseat, amusing himself with his cell phone. Roy drove, his eyes fully focused on the road. Edward sat in the front seat in his usual silent manner, lost in his thoughts.

"Hey Ed," Roy said, the car slowly approaching a stoplight. "Do you drive?" Roy turned to look at the teen as soon as the car came to a stop.

Edward nodded, his eyes never leaving the window.

"Then why didn't you offer to drive today?" Roy asked, turning a corner as soon as the light turned green. "I saw that you guys brought your car here."

Edward let out a silent sigh as he shrugged his shoulders. If either of the two teens in the car knew sign language Edward's reply would've been _'Al doesn't let me drive, he says it's not safe for me to.'_ But since they didn't know the language, Edward just opted for silence.

 _'Since my hands are busy he can't really talk to me...'_ Roy sighed upon the realization. _'When I get home I'm going to the library to get a sign language book…'_

-

The pool was packed. It seemed that everyone in the neighborhood had the same idea. With the heat pressing near ninety-five degrees, everyone desperately wanted to cool down. And they definitely chose the right place, the pool looked like a lot of fun! The pool itself was rather large and spacious, but they also had a nice little water park area for children and even a tennis court!

"Wow, it sure is packed." Al said, his eyes searching for a place for the group to sit.

"It always is, especially when it gets this hot." Riza said, "Most people come here to avoid the cost of the private pool memberships."

"I wonder where the other guys are..." Winry thought aloud. "We left at the same time, they should be here."

"Roy's car isn't that big," Riza said. "He probably told Maes to sit in the back and he threw a fit." Riza said with a chuckle.

Walking around, the trio soon found a nice shady area in the grass for them to place their stuff. As Al and Riza laid out their towels, Winry went off to get a snack at the snack bar muttering that she was rather hungry. Spreading out the towels and belongings, Al and Riza began to small talk.

"What type of car does Roy have?" Al asked as he took a seat on his fluffy beach towel.

"A Mustang." Riza said, slipping her flip-flops off and placing them in her beach bag.

Al chuckled, "Are you joking?"

Riza smiled as she lay out on her towel. "Nope, our parents got it for him as kind of a joke since his last name is Mustang." She chuckled slightly, "But he always has been rather fond of sporty cars."

Al smiled. "It suits him."

"Hey!"

Looking up, the two teens saw Winry walking towards them, "Look who I found!" She said with a smile, gesturing to the three boys walking behind her. Edward, Roy, and Hughes stood behind her. Edward was intrigued at all the sights he saw before him, his eyes searching over the chaotic place.

Al smiled, "What took you guys so long?"

"We just took a longer route here." Roy explained, watching as Edward and Hughes began to spread out their beach essentials.

-

 _'Ugh, this shirt is so hot...'_ Edward thought, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. _'But I can't take it off...'_

Edward was the only one in the group who was not in the pool, he opted to lie out on his beach towel and read a book instead. After all, what fun was a body of water packed with tons of people? He only agreed to go because the house was so dull and boring, plus everyone else seemed pretty excited about the idea, and who was he to ruin their fun.

"Ed!"

He knew it was Al, not too many teenage boys had such a high pitch voice. Looking up at his little brother, Edward smiled at him. Al only shook his head when he saw the book in his brothers hands, "Why aren't you swimming?" He asked, watching as his brother turned his attention back to his book.

 _'I'm fine here.'_ He signed, his eyes never leaving his book.

"Brother!" Al said, sighing slightly. "You have to be burning up, especially in that shirt, come swim!" Al sighed.

 _'Al, I'm fine.'_ Edward signed stubbornly.

"Don't make me go get Winry to drag you out in the pool." Al warned, a sly looking in his eyes.

Edward froze. His brother had not just threatened him with Winry. Turning to face Al, _'You wouldn't dare.'_ He signed, shooting a glare at Al.

Al smirked, crossing his arms "Oh yes I would."

 _'Fine.'_ He signed, marking his place in his book before placing it back in his bag. He rose from his spot on the fluffy beach towel and followed his brother to the crowded pool, silently thanking Al for not questioning why he still had his shirt on.

That was the best thing about Al: he never questioned things.

-

"Well well, it's about time you joined us." Roy said with a smirk, swimming towards the edge of the pool. "What took you so long?" He asked, watching as Edward took a seat on the edge of the pool so that the water went just up to his ankles.

Edward didn't reply. He was too busy fixing his hair into a high ponytail.

"Hey, Ed finally joined us!" Hughes said, making his way back to his spot next to Roy. Al was swimming with Winry off in the shallower end and Riza had run into a friend and was busy hanging out with them.

"Well, are you going to come in, shortie?" Hughes asked in a joking tone.

Ed's head shot up, his brows furrowed at the 'shortie' comment, furiously signing something at the older teen. _'Who the hell are you calling so short he'd drown in the kiddie pool?!'_ He signed, even though he knew the two teens in front of him didn't know sign language.

Hughes chuckled at the blonde's reaction, "Hey Roy, mind being my interpreter again?" He asked.

"I really don't know what he said this time, but I don't think he's too fond of you calling him short." Roy said with a chuckle, making a mental note to himself to not call Edward short.

It was then that the two teens noticed that Edward had yet to take his tank top off, despite the hot temperature. "Hey Edward, why do you still have your tank top on?" Roy asked, knowing that the teen must be rather hot with the thick fabric clinging to him.

Edward froze. He had hoped no one would say anything about the shirt like his brother. He clenched the material in his fist, his eyes drifting to his lap. He didn't want the others to see his scars, he didn't want them to judge or make fun of him. Back in Central, people weren't too kind to him; they'd make rude remarks about Edward's scarred skin. Edward felt a tremor run through his body at the very thought of the comments they'd make.

"Hey..." Roy said softly, pushing himself up on the concrete so that he was next to Edward. "What's wrong?"

Edward turned, his golden eyes meeting Roy's deep blue irises. Slowly he reached for Roy's hand, his fingers softly tracing his words onto Roy's damp skin. 'I don't want you to see...'

"What don't you want me to se..." Roy stopped, realizing what Edward meant. Edward didn't want them to see the rest of his scars. "Edward, we'd never be mean about that." Roy said softly, his hand brushing the blondes shoulder. "We're your friends."

Edward shook his head, his fingers dancing in Roy's palm. _'No, they're so ugly.'_ He wrote with trembling fingers.

"Edward," Roy said slowly. "We haven't been mean about the scars we see."

 _'Those are different, they're not as bad as the others.'_ Edward 'said'.

"The one on your neck is pretty brutal." Roy said honestly, watching as Edward ran a finger across the rough skin.

_'Fine.'_

Edward slowly slid the tank top above his head, throwing it off beside him. Roy was right, it was a lot cooler without the tank top on. He turned towards Roy, a harsh glare spread across his face. _'Are you happy now?'_ He signed, despite knowing that Roy did not know sign language.

Roy brushed off the blonde's weird hand gestures; he was too busy taking in all of Edward's body. Ed was right. The scars were pretty bad. His tanned skin was marred with thick patches of pink colored skin. Roy cringed at the sight of some of them. They looked painful. Roy began to wonder what had caused such scars on Edward's beautiful skin.

Wait... did he just call Edward's skin beautiful?

Roy shook his head. It must be the chlorine getting to him. "Well, are you going to get in the water now?" Roy asked, his voice smooth like velvet.

Edward shrugged, silently saying _'I guess.'_

At that moment, Hughes saw an evil look in Roy's eyes, a small smirk spreading across the ebony haired teenagers lips. Hughes chuckled, 'That's quite a mischievous look on his face.' He thought, _'I wonder just what he has planned?'_

It was then that Roy pulled out his mischievous plan, pushing Edward into the water with a string of laughter escaping his lips. A scream never left Edward's lips, even when he crashed into the icy cold water.

"Roy that was rather cruel, don't you think?" Hughes asked, slightly worried for the mute boy who had just been thrown under water.

"Well, he can swim.." Roy said with a devious smile as he jumped back in the water.

Edward's head suddenly broke the surface, the blonde coughing slightly. Opening his eyes, he sent a glare towards Roy, bringing his hand up and furiously signing something to the man. Momentarily forgetting the man would not understand what he said, _'What are you trying to do?! Kill me?!'_ he signed, his hand moving in a furious manner.

All Roy could do was let out a loud laugh. The boy was just far too funny when he was mad! Especially when he looked like a soaking wet cat. Hughes, who had planned to scold his friend, could only join in the chorus of laughter. After all, Edward did look rather funny.

Edward couldn't hold up the glare any longer, Roy really didn't mean any harm to him. He was just trying to get him to lighten up and have some fun. He must have looked rather silly too, as Al had always told him he could resemble a drowned cat.

A chorus of laughter escaped his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will always love this chapter.


	7. Nothing Else I Can Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang gets pizza, and Roy comes on just a little too strong.

_The room was dark, the metallic scent of blood heavy in the air. The floor was dirty. Red stains covered the cold concrete floor. The room was practically empty, the only furniture being a large bookshelf that held hardly any books and a table. In the far corner of the room sat a little boy, a thick collar around his neck that kept him still and chained to the wall. His hands were bound together behind his back, effectively crushing all his dreams of escaping._

_But that didn't stop him from trying._

_'That bastard may have tied my wrists together, but he did a half assed job!' He thought, his slender fingers picking at the tight knot on the rope that chained his wrists together. It was a slow process, but he would do anything to get himself free from the monster. Besides, he knew that Tucker had left the house, as he had heard the car leave not too long ago._

_A wide smirk spread on his face when he felt the rope slide down his arms, now the only thing left was the collar. He brought his hands into his lap, wincing slightly as the rope had left thick abrasions on his wrists. His fingertips were red and raw from picking at the harsh straw of the rope, but that didn't stop him from picking at the thick leather collar. 'C'mon Edward, you can do this!' He thought to himself, his fingertips frantically searching for the buckle that would set him free._

_He found it, his fingers quickly prying the metal apart. A dark smirk came across his face, the thick leather falling limply from his neck. He was free._

_Just as he was about to make his great escape, he heard the car in the driveway. Shou Tucker was home._

_He froze when he heard the front door unlock, his eyes going wide with fear._

_"Dammit!" He cursed, bagging his head against the concrete wall._

_There were footsteps._

_'Oh no!' Edward thought, his hands flying up to his mouth. There was no way to escape now!_

_The door to the basement opened, the sound of feet coming down the stairs met his ears._

_'No, please!' He thought, curling up into a tiny ball in the corner._

_"Oh Edward..." A chilling voice said, his footsteps coming closer. "I thought we had met an understanding…"_

_'Please don't hurt me!' Edward thought, his hands covering his head._

_The footsteps continued until Edward felt Tucker's body hovering over him. He flinched, knowing what was going to come. "It seems you have broken the rules…" Tucker said, his voice dark._

_Edward shivered, wishing that the floor would devour him. "No…" He mumbled, closing his eyes. Tears prickled in the corners, fear coursing through his body. He knew what was coming next._

_Tucker quickly grabbed the boy, picking up his small body with ease. Lifting him up in the air, Tucker surveyed his body. Edward turned his head to the side, refusing to make eye contact with the man. A dark chuckle came from the man, "You little bitch." He said darkly._

_"If I'm a little bitch then you must be one big bastard." Edward said with a grin, Tucker had not yet broken him._

_Edward then felt himself collide with the harsh concrete floor, Tucker standing above him. "Brat." He muttered, his glass glinting in the low light of the room. Edward coughed, his chest hurting from the fall. "Bastard…" He whispered, careful for Tucker not to hear. He heard the man walk away, his feet moving towards the table. The sound of metal meeting wood met his ears and Edward shivered. What did Tucker have planned?_

_The footsteps returned, a dark laugh leaving Tucker's lips. Edward shivered again; Tucker's laugh frightened him._

_"Oh Edward..." Tucker started. "You must learn your lesson." He crouched down to where the blonde boy's small body laid, a large knife in hand._

_"What lesson?" Edward wheezed, his large golden eyes fixed on the knife in Tuckers hand._

_An evil smile came across Tucker's lips, the blade of his knife making contact with Edwards skin. The tip of the blade dug into the skin beneath Edward's left ear. Edward let out a shrill cry, squeezing his eyes shut. Tucker's smile only widened, loving the reaction he was getting from the boy. He dragged the blade a crossed the boys face, stopping when he met his left nostril._

_"If you utter so much as another sound," Tucker started, watching the blood drip down Edward's face. "I will kill you."_

 

-

 

_'If you utter so much as another sound, I will kill you.'_

The sentence repeated itself over and over inside of Edward's mind. His hands shook, a tremor of fear coursed through his body. He had just let out a real laugh, not one of his signature silent laughs but a real one. His hearts was racing with a mixture of excitement and fear as, for the first time in eleven years, a sound had escaped his lips. A wave of emotions had overtaken him and he didn't know if he should cry or smile.

After all, it wasn't everyday when a mute person makes a sound.

Breaking out of his trance, Edward noticed two sets of concerned eyes staring at him. Roy and Maes stared at the blonde, their eyes heavy with concern. Blinking a few times, Edward felt the tornado of fear diminish at the sight of his surroundings. He was okay; no one was going to hurt him. A small smile spread a crossed his lips, a silent way of reassuring the two teens that he was okay.

Hughes and Roy just stared at the blonde teen in utter shock.

Had Edward just laughed out loud?

Not one of his usual silent laughs, but a _real_ laugh?

"Edward..." Roy said softly, his eyes slightly widening. "Did you just... _laugh_?"

Edward eye's golden eyes widened a little, nodding his head.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked, swimming towards him. His voice was soft, attempting to comfort the boy. Gently, he brushed his hand against Ed's shoulder to get his attention.

Edward let out a ragged sigh, swallowing the fear that was bubbling inside him. He was okay, neither Roy nor Hughes were going to harm him for laughing. Smiling slightly, he turned his attention to Roy and nodded his head, a silent gesture that let Roy know that he indeed okay. Roy frowned slightly, his hand slowly brushing against Ed's arm once more, "Are you sure?" he asked worriedly.

Edward rolled his eyes, _'God he sounds just like Al!'_ he thought. Once again Edward nodded, his smile widening some. Roy smiled slightly, his fears of Edward having another panic attack subsiding. "Good!" Roy said with a slight laugh, he then turned towards a silent Hughes. "You haven't said a word in five minutes Maes, are _you_ okay?" Roy asked, his voice holding a joking tone.

Hughes chuckled, "I'm fine," he said, choosing to leave out the part of how he too was scared of Edward having another panic attack. "I don't know about you two but I'm really craving ice cream from the concessions stand."

"I could really go for a popsicle myself, what about you Edward?" Roy asked.

Edward nodded, a wide smile across his lips. Roy smiled at the blonde, happy that everything was okay. He eventually would mention the incident to the teen, but not right now. When he could steal a moment alone with Edward he would bring it up, but until then he was going to let Edward figure it out by himself.

Getting out of the pool, Maes babbled to Edward about all the different treats he could get at the concession stand. Edward merely listened, rolling his eyes every now and then at the elder teen. Roy chuckled at the sight. Edward was only getting a mere taste of how annoying Maes could be. As the trio walked towards the concession stand, Roy's thoughts drifted towards the surprise of Edward laughing.

 _'I've never heard such a beautiful sound...'_ Roy thought, his thoughts centered around Edward's laughter. _'Wait, what?'_

-

Edward, Roy, and Hughes were sprawled out on their towels eating their frozen treats. They were spread about, each sitting on their own towel. Roy and Hughes did not want to invade Edward's personal space, as Al had mentioned earlier that Edward had issues with people being too close to him. In the younger Elric's words, 'Everything is on Edward's terms'. So the two friends didn't push their luck and remained on their own towels.

"So do you like Resembol?" Maes asked Edward, breaking the drawn-out silence.

Edward nodded, his eyes fixated on the popsicle that he was currently devouring. The red syrup dripped down his chin, his lips a bright red color from the dye.

"Roy says that you moved here from Central. Do you miss it?" Maes asked, deciding that now was the absolute best time to play fifty questions with Edward. After all, his ice cream was already gone and what better way to entertain himself than learning more about the mute blonde?

Edward stopped eating momentarily, his eyes developing a solemn look as they glanced down at his towel. A puff of air left his lungs and he shook his head, no he did not miss Central at all. He stole a glance at the other two teens; Roy was halfway through his ice cream and was eating the cone while Hughes was fiddling with the left over wrapper of his treat.

"Did you not like Central?" Roy asked, suddenly breaking his lengthy silence.

Edward nodded, going back to eating his delectable treat. It was no secret that Ed didn't like Central; he did not hide his distaste for the city. It was not the city that truly bothered him. It was the people. The people in Central were close-minded; they did not seem to like those who were different. Edward's mutism bothered them. They did not understand why he didn't speak. They said he was defiant, that he was just being troublesome. Thinking back to the people of Central, Edward rolled his eyes, biting down hard on the frozen treat.

"Hey guys!"

The trio turned to notice Al had returned, his short sienna colored hair clinging to his forehead. The younger Elric quickly picked up his towel and began to roughly dry his hair. Once he deemed his hair was dry enough, he ran the towel down his slightly toned form and began to dry the rest of his body.

"Where'd Winry go?" Hughes asked, noticing the absence of the blonde that was usually glued to Al's hips.

Al chuckled, placing his towel back on the grass next to where his older brother sat. "She's hanging out with Riza." He answered, plopping down on the soft plush towel that lay next to Edward's. Looking towards Edward, he smiled. "Whatcha got, Brother?" He asked.

Edward turned towards Al with a smile, his lips a bright red from the popsicle. _'A popsicle, duh!'_ he sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at his brothers dumb questions.

Shaking his head, Al let out a chuckle. "I know that," Al said. "I meant what flavor, silly!"

 _'Watermelon.'_ Edward replied, finishing up the last few bits of his delicious treat.

"That sounds good." Al said, his thoughts drifting towards what other ice cream the concession stand may have. "So what have you guys been up to?" Al asked, turning to the other two teens.

Roy took his last bite of his popsicle, letting it melt in his mouth before he spoke. "Not a whole lot, swimming some." He answered, choosing to leave out the fact that Edward had laughed. It was not his place to tell Alphonse something like that; it was Ed's.

"Where'd you and Winry disappear off to?" Hughes asked, his voice holding a mischievous tone to it. Roy only shook his head at his best friend's comments. Hughes could have such a perverted mind sometimes.

Al's cheeks became a rosy color, knowing what Hughes was suggesting. "W-We were just in the deeper part of the pool, where the diving board and slides are!" Al said, stuttering slightly. A nervous chuckle escaping his lips, not that he and Winry would ever do said things Hughes was suggesting.

A string of laughter filled the air, causing the three teens to turn towards the source. The source of the laughter didn't really surprise Hughes or Roy, but Alphonse was shocked to find Edward as the source of the laughter.

"Brother..." Al said slowly, "Y-You're _laughing_!" He was utterly shocked, after all he hadn't heard anything escape his older brothers lips in over a decade. His steal colored eyes were wide, memories of a younger Edward flashing before his eyes. Before he had been held captive, before he had gone mute, before he had changed.

Edward merely smiled, his laughter ceasing. Looking over at his younger brother his gaze turned concerned, Alphonse was staring at him like he'd seen a ghost. Cocking his head to the side, _'Al are you okay?'_ he signed.

Al blinked away tears, a goofy smile forming across his lips. "Yeah," he said, his voice a few octaves lower than normal. "I'm fine Brother." Letting out a sigh, he looked back towards his mute brother. Edward had moved off of his towel, now sitting next to Roy and Maes and occupying Riza's towel. For the first time since their Mother had passed, Edward looked genuinely happy. The golden haired teen had turned his attention back to his new friends, trying his best to hold a conversation with them. Roy seemed to understand Ed better than Maes, paying close attention to the words that Ed would write in his palms and then relay the information to Hughes. Though the conversation seemed slightly strained, it seemed the trio were getting along quite well.

"Alllll!"

Snapping out of the daze he didn't realize he was in, Al saw Winry standing above him. He smiled at the sight of his girlfriend, "Hey Win." he said with a smile and leaned in for a kiss. Winry smiled, leaning down to kiss him. The kiss was short, only lasting for a few seconds before Winry pulled back.

"What have you and Riza been up to?" Al asked, watching as Winry took a seat next to him.

"We ran into some friends from school and talked to them for awhile." She relied, brushing out her thick mane of hair. Winry then went through the process of pulling her long locks back into a low ponytail. Once she deemed her ponytail to be perfect, she pulled her hair up to the back of her head and secured the strange bun with a big hair clip. The hairstyle resembled Riza's usual hair do.

"So you won't believe this." Al said, wrapping his arm around Winry's shoulders. Turning his head slightly, he looked straight into her shimmering blue eyes. "And before I even tell you, no, I am not lying."

"That just makes you sound like you're about to lie to me." Winry said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Ed let out a _real_ laugh." Al said, his voice wavering with excitement.

"You expect me to believe that someone who has been mute for eleven years laughed today?" She said, a look of annoyance crossing her features. "Get real Alphonse." Winry said, shaking her head at the teen.

Al was just about to protest, saying that he wasn't lying and that for the first time in years Edward had changed. But right as he opened his mouth, the sound of pure happiness escaped petal pink lips. A wave of emotion came over Al, watching as Winry turned her head to find the source of the laughter, her cerulean eyes going wide when she saw that it was Edward, sitting next to his new friends several feet away from her and Alphonse. "H-He really laughed..." She said, her voice trembling.

"Like I would lie Winry." Al said, slightly offended that she had accused him of such a thing.

"I'm sorry Al, but it's just hard to believe that Edward would laugh..." Winry said, her voice soft and sincere. "With how he's been for so many years, it's hard to believe that he would change."

"I know Win." Al said, pulling her close to his chest. Winry let out a sigh of contentment, resting her head in the crock of Al's neck. "I love you..." He whispered, kissing the top of her head softly.

"I love you too..." Winry said, kissing Al's shoulder softly.

"Yo, lovebirds!"

Turning their heads, they saw Roy standing a few feet away from the teens. "We're getting kind of hungry, you guys up to go get pizza?" He asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks.

"Pizza sounds great! What do you think Winry?" Al asked, turning his gaze down to the blonde in his arms.

"I'm up for it, I just have to go find Riza." Winry said, her thoughts trailing to where her best friend had wandered. "She's probably still hanging out with Jean." Winry said, chuckling slightly.

Roy's eyebrows twitched at the mention of Jean. "Jean Havoc?" Roy asked, his tone slightly irritated.

"Yup!" Winry said. "That's who she has been hanging on all day."

"Oh really..." Roy said, his eyebrows twitching. He knew Jean. They actually were pretty close friends. Jean was nearly two years older than his baby sister, and he didn't like the fact that he was hanging around her. Shaking his head slightly, Roy turned his thoughts back to the reason he had come to bother the couple in the first place. "Anyhow, we thought it'd be fun to go to that pizza place on Brown Street." He said. "If you guys want to meet us there, we're leaving in about fifteen minutes."

"Well, I doubt Riza will protest, so we'll see you then." Al said, a wide smile on his face.

-

"I'm telling you Ed, this is the best pizza place in town!" Hughes said cheerily as the trio walked into the small pizza joint, the word ' _Marion's_ ' was above the door in bright LED lights.

"Hughes, I think he gets the point." Roy said, shaking his head at his friend's chatterbox behavior.

Inside, the building was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside. The interior décor mimicked that of a more European style, much like one would see in Italy, with Rocky looking brick walls and blotchy cream-colored tables. The place wasn't as packed as one would expect on a Friday evening, but it wasn't exactly empty. The aroma of cheese filled the air, making Edwards mouth water. 'Mmm, it smells so gooood.' He thought, his thoughts filled with a pizza with every topping imaginable on it.

"Let's go grab a table, the others should be here shortly!" Roy said, breaking the other two teens out of their thoughts.

Walking through the spacious restrung, Edward took in more of his surroundings. Their were pictures on the walls, most being old newspaper clippings. It seemed as though they had most of the small town's history plastered on their walls. Turning his attention back to Hughes and Roy, he found that they had engaged in small talk and he was once again unintentionally left out. Letting out a soft sigh, Edward mutely followed the two as usual.

He hated being mute, a lot.

"Edward," Roy said, brushing his hand softly against the blonde's shoulders. "Do you think this table is big enough for all six of us?"

Roy then gestured to the table in front of them, it was a medium sized table with merely six chairs. It would fit all of them, but Roy was asking if they would fit comfortably. Edward looked at the table for a few moments before he deemed that the table was indeed large enough for everyone. Looking up at Roy, he nodded. Roy smiled. "Ha!" he said as he turned towards Hughes, "I told you this table was fine, now you have to go order for us."

Hughes shook his head, "Fine, fine." he said. "What do you want?"

"Well Edward, what do you want?" Roy asked, taking a seat. He watched as Edward placed a finger on his chin in a pondering manner, trying to decide what he wanted. After a few seconds he grabbed Roy's hand, _'extra cheese with pepperoni and black olives'_.

"Hey Maes, he gets our usual!" Roy said, chuckling at the coincidence.

"I swear Roy, you two were made for each other." Maes said, shaking his head as he walked towards the register.

Roy smiled, turning his attention back to Edward. Noticing the teen had yet to take a seat, Roy had to chuckle slightly. "You can sit down you know." Roy said, patting the chair beside him. The golden haired teen sent Roy a shy smile, slowly taking the seat next to his friend.

"So, are you having fun?" Roy asked, giving the blonde his full attention.

Edward's smile widened and he nodded his head, he really was having a lot of fun with Roy and Hughes. Roy smiled, "I'm glad." He said, "Hey, did you tell Hughes what you wanted to drink?" He asked, realizing the man had not asked Edward what he wanted.

Edward shook his head, _'Nope'_.

"Hughes knows what I like, but what do you want?" Roy asked, ready to go tell the elder teen what Edward wanted.

Edward quickly knew what he wanted, grabbing his hand to tell Roy his favorite drink. _'Diet Coke.'_

Roy only shook his head, "Dear God, Hughes is right, we are made for each other," he said with a loud chuckle. Catching Edward's confused glance he was quick to answer what was so funny, "Diet Coke is our favorite too."

Edward couldn't resist laughing. After all, the coincidences between the two of them were pretty funny. _'I don't think I've ever had so much in common with someone...'_ Edward thought with a smile, it felt good to have a friend that shared so much in common with him.

"Okay, our order is placed and here are the drinks." Hughes said, two large glass pitchers in his hands. He gently placed them on the table, careful not to break them. "I wasn't sure what Ed wanted so I just got Diet Coke and Lemonade. I know Al said that you like lemonade." Hughes said, rambling on about how he had forgotten to ask what Edward wanted.

"Get this, he likes Diet Coke too!" Roy said, chuckling slightly.

"Like I said, you guys were made for each other." Hughes said. "Can you guys go grab the cups?" He asked.

The two teens nodded, getting up from there seats. Edward followed Roy, not really know where he was supposed to go as he had never been there before. The two walked over towards the register where a larger counter stood with a soda machine behind it. A pretty young waitress stood behind the counter, working on people's orders. "What can I help you with?" She asked, her eyes lifting up from the machine in front of her.

"Can we have six cups please?" Roy asked, watching as Edward took in all the new surroundings. He had to admit, the old looking arcade games in the hall were rather colorful and neat looking.

She smiled, nodding her head as she reached for the tower of green paper cups. She counted out six and handed the small stack of them to Roy. "Thank you." He said, taking the cups from her.

"C'mon Ed, let's go back to the table." He said, drawing the blonde out of his daze. Edward nodded, following Roy back to the table.

Al and the others arrived fifteen minutes later than they were supposed to. The girls' directions were absolutely horrid and it took Al forever to find the place. Al then learned to trust the GPS on his phone rather than Winry's directions. Winry and Riza continuously denied that their directions were that horrible and insisted that Al was just not listening to them.

Now that the whole gang was there, they ordered a second pizza for the other three. Now, they were all happily eating and enjoying each other's company.

"So what do you guys think of this place?" Hughes asked the Elric brothers, taking a sip from his drink.

"It's really good, don't you agree Ed?" Alphonse said, taking a bite from his pizza. The cheese was perfect, not too cheesy and not too dry. He turned his steel colored eyes across the table at his brother and had to chuckle.

Edward was in the middle of eating his third slice, pizza sauce adorning his face in a typical Edward fashion. The golden haired teen nodded, pausing in his pizza eating to take a sip of his drink. Roy chuckled at the teen's behavior. He had learned today that Ed was a sloppy eater and found it quite funny. "Ed, you have some pizza sauce on your cheek." He said, pointing out the red sauce on his cheek.

Winry chuckled, "More like he has some face on his pizza." She commented. She turned towards Riza, the two making up some more silly jokes about Edward's sloppy eating.

"Nice one Win." Al said, chucking.

Edward sat his pizza down, his eyebrows furrowing at the two. Throwing them a glare that read 'Oh shut up.'

"Here, let me get it for you." Roy said, picking up a napkin from the center of the table. Edward turned, ready to protest and tell him that he wasn't a baby and could get it himself. When suddenly, he felt gentle fingers on his chin, effectively holding his head in place. The ebony haired teen then gently patted the semi-soft napkin on his cheek, brushing the sauce off of his cheek tenderly. "There, all gone." Roy said as he pulled back, a smile on his face.

Edward felt his cheeks heat up. He could've sworn that Roy's actions were borderline flirting. Not that he had any experience with flirting, but he was confident that he had watched Al pull that same move with Winry at some point. Shaking his head he turned back to his pizza, shoving another slice in his mouth. _'Yeah, like he was flirting with you Ed.'_ He thought as he started munching on the chewy pizza. _'Like that would ever happen.'_

Roy smiled, crumpling up the used napkin and placing it on the table. Pulling another slice of pizza from the tray he began to eat his third slice.

"Well that was quite a move you pulled there." Hughes said, low enough for only Roy to hear. He began to twirl his straw around his cup, the ice clinking around in response.

"What do you mean?" Roy said, pausing to take another bite of pizza. "I just got something off his face is all."

"Oh bullshit Roy." Hughes said with a chuckle. "That was borderline flirting and you know it."

"I don't know what you're talking about Hughes." Roy said.

"You know if you like him you can tell me," Hughes said, taking a drink of what little he had left in his cup. "I'll take your secrets to the grave you know."

"Hughes I don't like him, end of story." Roy said, desperately trying to end the conversation.

"Okay Roy," Hughes said, shaking his head slightly at his friend's behavior. "But when you're ready to admit it let me know."

Roy only sighed, turning to see what the others were talking about. Riza and Winry were telling the Elrics about their friends they saw at the pool today. Al was listening intently to the girls while it seemed that Edward was a little detached from the conversation and was much more interested in twirling his straw around the ice in his cup.

"Bored?" Roy asked.

Edward nodded slightly, his golden eyes never leaving his cup.

"You want to go play some of the arcade games they have?" Roy asked, remembering how Ed seemed interested in them earlier.

Edward pulled his gaze away from his cup at the mention of video games, nodding his head slightly at Roy.

"C'mon Hughes, let's go show Ed the games." Roy said, hopping up from his seat.

-

The rest of the night flew by and, before the teens knew it, it was getting dark. They split into their two groups and began their rides home.

In Roy's small Mustang, Hughes was once again complaining of the cramped space in the backseat, muttering sentences such as _'Roy I hate your car'_ and _'I am way too big for this backseat'_. Roy ignored them, trying to pay attention to the road and get everyone home safely. Edward was his usual silent self, his topaz colored eyes glued to the window. Roy knew the blonde didn't mean to act antisocial; it was just hard for him to converse with two people who didn't know sign language.

"Hughes I'm taking you home, right?" Roy asked, forgetting if he had picked Maes up or if Maes drove to his house earlier that day.

"Yup!" Hughes said happily, "Remember, my car is in the shop till tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah..." Roy said, taking a right turn. There was no need to ask Maes for his address; Roy knew it like the back of his hand. The Hughes house was like a second home to Roy, seeing as they considered each other family.

After dropping Maes off, Roy began the drive home. The silence of the car didn't really bother him. Edward's quietness was comforting after being with Hughes all day. While Hughes was a dear friend to Roy, his chatterbox antics could get on his nerves after a while. "So, did Hughes talk your ear off?" Roy asked as he reached a stop sign, chuckling slightly.

Edward nodded, watching as the light went from red to green.

"He's like that, just be glad that you didn't get the full dose of his Elysia or Gracia rants." Roy said, rolling his eyes slightly. Turning his eyes back to the road, he took a left turn. "You know, you can turn some music on if you'd like." Roy said, his grip tight on the steering wheel. "I have some CD's in the glove compartment."

Edward turned his attention to said glove compartment, gently prying it open. He found several CD's, most of them falling into the rock category. His golden eyes widened slightly when he saw one of his favorite bands, _The Cab_. He quickly grabbed the CD and put it into the stereo, the steady beat of the music began to fill the car.

The rest of the ride home the only noise was the music escaping the cars speakers.

Roy had insisted that he walk Edward to the door, while Edward insisted that he didn't need Roy to do that. In the end, Roy won the argument and happily walked Ed up to the door. The night air was cool, the humidity dropped once the sun had set and the temperature was finally comfortable. The two teens stood on the porch, neither saying anything for a few moments.

"I had fun with you today." Roy said, breaking the awkward silence.

Edward nodded, _'I had fun with you too.'_

Smiling, "Well if you ever want to hang out sometime, text me." Roy said, slipping a small sliver of paper to the shorter teen.

Edward took the piece of paper, sending Roy a puzzled look. 'When did he write his number down?' he thought, questioning how he had missed said action.

"Well, I've got to get home now..." Roy trailed off, shifting his feet slightly. "Bye, Edward." he said, his voice smooth like velvet.

Edward brought his hand up and waved, watching as he got back into his car and drove it into the garage. He felt butterflies in his stomach, like that day when Roy had taken him to lunch a few weeks earlier. As he opened the door to the house, he thought back to all that had taken place in the long day.

A smile rose on his lips as he prepared to take a shower. Resembol was beginning to feel like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love this chapter too.


	8. The Bird and the Worm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward meets his speech pathologist for the first and they go over their goals for the year. But not without a little drama between him and Roy.

The rest of the summer passed quickly, July rapidly fading into August. Before either Elric was ready, they found themselves enrolling into the local high school, groaning as they helped Pinako fill out the paperwork. Edward was always a difficult child, and that of course was apparent when they enrolled him in the high school. With Edward came stacks of paperwork, test scores, medical documents, meetings, and many files coming in the mail from Central City; all of which seemed to be more difficult than need be. If only their mother was there to assist them...

“Edward, you know we have a meeting with your speech pathologist today.” Al said early one August morning, standing in his older brother’s doorway, his gaze fixated on the lump in Edward’s bed.

The only response Al got was Edward pulling the blanket over his head and burrowing further into the mattress. Al chuckled, feeling glad he got up early to deal with Edward’s childish behavior. 

“Come on Edward, you need to get up.” He said, walking into his brother’s bedroom. “We have to be at the school in two hours.” 

As expected, Edward ignored his younger brother. Al only shook his head, slowly making his way into his brother’s room. His first action was to open the curtains and let in the bright morning sun, “It's a beautiful day brother, let's not waste it!” Al said cheerily, a wide smile plastered on his lips. Al was, in every way, a morning person.

Turning his gaze back to the bed, Al watched as Edward tried to embed himself in his mattress. Chuckling, Al walked over to the edge of his brother’s bed. “Brother, you have three seconds to get up before I bring in reinforcements.” Al said, his voice holding a very mischievous tone.

Under the blankets, Edward's eyes flew open and his body stiffened. Al wouldn't _dare_. Edward knew what Al meant by reinforcements, it was either ice cold water or... _Winry_. At the very thought of either option, Edward quickly sprung out of his bed. Signing a quick 'good morning' to his brother, Edward promptly grabbed some clothes and rushed off to the bathroom for a quick shower.

All the while Al watched with amusement, “Well that's one way to get him moving.” He thought aloud.

\-----

“Hello, my name is Maria Ross.” A young woman with short dark brown hair said, reaching out to shake Al's hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, I'm Alphonse Elric.” Al said, shaking her hand. 

She smiled, adverting her gaze over to Edward. He stood slightly behind his brother, hands dug deep in his pockets as his golden eyes danced around the room. “And you must be Edward,” Maria said, extending her hand out. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

At the sound of his name Edward turned his attention to the woman in front of him. Smiling slightly, he shook her hand with hesitance. Maria took notice of his hesitancy and gave him a warm smile. “Come. Let's sit in my office.” She said, pulling her hand away.

The two brothers nodded, following the young woman into her small office space.

\----

“I've looked over your file, Edward.” Maria said, her hand brushing against the manila folder. “Might I say, you're quite a case.”

Alphonse chuckled, “Yes, my brother sure knows how to get his name known.”

“Honors student, college level classes, straight A's...” Maria trailed off, folding her hands under her chin. “With a record like that, what could I possibly be needed for?”

Edward barely heard a word the woman said, he was too busy examining the room. Finding the cream colored walls lined with books far more interesting than the woman speaking to him. Al took notice of his behavior. “You see, while Ed no longer really needs assistance in his sign language or help with school work, we'd like to strengthen other areas.” Al said. He was a perfect advocate for his brother.

“Like what?” She asked, while her eyes focused on the older Elric. She watched his behavior closely, noting how he wasn't really focusing on the conversation in front of him. Edward seemed rather detached from the conversation, almost as though it weren't happening. 

Al gently brushed against Edward’s shoulder, breaking the golden-eyed teen out of his daze. “Brother, why don't you go look around the school?” He said gently, “I need to talk to Miss Ross privately. I'll text you when we need you.”

Edward nodded, happy to leave the stuffy office room. He quickly leaped out of his chair and out to the school hallway.

Turning his attention back to Maria, Al smiled. “I'm sorry, I'd prefer to not talk about him while he's right in front of us.” He said, his voice honest.

“It's fine,” She said. “It makes more sense to send him off while we talk about our goals for him.” Maria said, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen. “Now, what skills would you like me to work on?”

Al let out a sigh, “I know what I'm about to ask you is going to be rather difficult...” Al explained. “But please, give my brother a chance.” He paused, trying to fit his thoughts into words. “Central wasn't good for him, most people thought he was just being defiant and didn't want to talk… But I know that's not the case.”

“So you want me to try and get him to talk?” Maria asked, slightly shocked at the teen’s request.

“Yes.” Al said, his voice faltering slightly. “But I think you may be able to succeed.”

“And why is that?” Maria asked, slowly beginning to write notes down.

“I actually could tell you why he's mute, which I wasn't able to before.” Al said. “I know the exact type of mutism Edward has, and I know that you're a lot kinder than the professionals we met with in Central.” Al said, a smile gracing his lips.

Maria smiled at his last comment, “Well, if you know why he's mute please tell.” she said, “I'd like to know exactly what I'm working with.”

Alphonse let out a sigh, “When Edward was five and I was four he went missing. He was missing for nine months.” Al paused, his eyes getting incredibly wet. “When they found him, only a few blocks away from our home, he was badly beaten...” he paused once more. “He had witnessed the murder of a young girl and her dog. That's why the man held him captive, he was afraid that Edward would tell on him.” Al paused, his throat feeling tight. “When Edward went to the hospital they thought he was silent because of the injury to his neck, but that can't be the case because he still has never uttered a word since the day he was discharged.”

“I'm so sorry your brother had to go through that...” Maria said sympathetically, her pen scratching against the pad of paper. Edward's past was vital information. She would need to keep it in the back of her mind if she were to succeed in getting him to speak again.

“But please, don't tell Edward!” Al said suddenly. “He doesn't seem to remember what happened to him.”

“I won't say a word.” Maria promised, twirling the thin pen around her finger.

“Thank you.” Al said, a soft smile on his face.

“Can you tell me a little more about Edward's mutism?” Maria asked, tapping her pen against the paper. 

“What do you need to know exactly?” Al asked, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

“The type of mutism it is, when he last spoke, improvements and such.” Maria answered.

“His mutism is elective, but specifically it's reactive mutism.” Al answered. “As you can imagine why.” 

“And the last time he spoke?” Maria asked, her eyes glued to her pen dancing across the lined yellow paper.

“When he was six, so 2002.” Alphonse said. “No one has heard him utter a word since he was found. At first the doctors thought he may have had some damage to his hearing or to his throat, but after he was examined they determined that nothing was preventing him from speaking.”

Maria nodded her head, writing down the information. “And what about improvements?”

“He laughs out loud now.” Al said. “That's really the only thing that has changed in him, aside from some other issues he had as a child that have since improved.”

“What were those?”

“He used to be really jumpy and had issues with people getting too close to him or touching him.” Al said, thinking back to his childhood. “He would hide behind our Mom a lot, especially around people he didn't know.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, thinking about it now he has one bad habit he's never seemed to break...” Al trailed off, a sudden thought crossing his mind.

“And what would that be?” Maria asked.

“When he gets scared or nervous he bits his lip.” Al said. “And it's not just a normal bit either, he bits it hard, usually to the point where he draws blood.” Al paused, thinking through the memories of his brother. “When he's nervous he usually grinds his front teeth against his lip, pretty much just breaking down the layers of his lip.”

“Is that why he has that thin red line on his bottom lip?” Maria asked, remembering the raw looking wound that was Edward's bottom lip.

“You noticed that?” Al asked, surprised that the woman who had only known Edward for twenty minutes had noticed such a detail about him. 

“Yes,” She answered, writing down the information that Al had just relayed to her. “I try to notice everything about my cases so that I can help them.”

Al smiled, confident that this year things would change for his brother. “I like you.” Al said candidly.

\-----

 _'Damn Al, getting rid of me just so he can talk about me.'_ Edward thought.

Currently, he was mindlessly wandering the school. Al had kicked him out of the meeting with his speech pathologist so he really had nothing else to do. The school was virtually empty. After all, there was still another week until the first day.

 _'I'm bored.'_ Edward thought, his eyes darting around the hallway he was in. Metal lockers surrounded him, the glossy finish shining in the early morning sun. Turning his attention to the left, he saw several classrooms. Most of the doors were closed, a sign that no one was there, which didn't surprise him. He assumed that most of the teachers were already ready for the school year. With the first day only being two weeks away, they needed to be ready for the first day. 

Turning a corner, Edward found himself in the lobby to the south end of the school. It was rather plain. The only thing truly different from the hallways was that there were chairs in the center. Deciding it was time for a rest, Edward took a seat in one of the hard plastic chairs. Checking the time, he saw that it was just going on ten in the morning. A groan escaped his lips; it was so early. He was not a morning person and he'd much rather be sleeping right now. 

“I'm surprised to see you here.” A familiar velvety voice said, efficiently breaking Edward out of his thoughts.

Edward knew that voice, the rich and smooth like chocolate voice could only belong to one person: Roy Mustang.

Turning around, he saw his ebony haired neighbor leaning against the smooth concrete blocks of the school. _'Hi.'_ he signed with a smile, a simple gesture that he knew Roy would understand. Roy had begun to learn sign language, but he was only in the beginning stages of learning the gesture-oriented language. 

“Hi.” Roy said, echoing the words Edward so desperately wished he could say. “What are you doing here?” He asked, slightly confused as to why the teen was at the school so early in the morning. He knew that Edward was not a morning person in the least, since usually he woke up past noon. 

Edward gently tapped the seat beside him, a silent way of asking Roy to come and sit next to him. Roy understood, quickly walking towards the navy plastic chair and taking a seat next to his friend. Edward then suddenly reached out for his hand. _'A meeting.'_ he wrote, his thin fingers pressing the letters into Roy’s palm. Roy was no longer surprised when Edward did this, and he was getting used to the feel of Edward's fingertips against the sensitive skin of his palm.

“And why aren't you at this meeting?” Roy asked, wondering if Edward had ditched what he would imagine was an important meeting. 

_'Al kicked me out.'_ Edward answered with an annoyed puff of air escaping his lips.

Roy chuckled, “Why'd he kick you out?” he asked, leaning back against the uncomfortable plastic.

 _'He wants to talk about me.'_ Edward answered, rolling his eyes. He hated when Al talked about him, it always made people look at him differently. Their eyes always held sadness or… sympathy. He never knew what Al told them, but he hated it. 

“With who?” Roy asked, arching an eyebrow slightly. 

_'My speech pathologist.'_

“You were kicked out of a meeting with _your_ speech pathologist?” Roy asked, chuckling. Though he wasn't really surprised, Edward always did seem to have an interesting day-to-day life.

Edward nodded, knowing how silly it sounded. But that's how life was for him. Al always seemed to take control of his life. It had been that way since their Mother had passed, Al taking their Mother's place when it came to Edward. While it annoyed Ed, he knew it was something that had to be done. Al was his voice, and he had been since they were children. _'One day… I hope that I can finally be my own voice...'_ Edward thought, _'I want my own voice...'_

“Edward?” Roy said, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Are you okay?”

Edward nodded, a small smile returning to his lips. _'What are you doing here?'_ he asked, fingers swirling around in Roy's palm.

“I had a meeting with my counselor.” Roy said. “I made some changes to my schedule.”

 _'What kind of changes?'_

“I decided against taking one class and opted for another one.” Roy said, a small smile gracing his lips. He was happy that he decided against taking that gym class, he didn't need to take it anyway. Besides, a sign language class was far more important than a gym class.

 _'Oh okay.'_ Edward said, deciding not to press on what Roy had changed in his schedule.

“So, how long have you been here?” Roy asked.

Edward held up nine fingers, internally groaning when he realized that they had already been there for an hour.

“You've been here since _nine_?” Roy asked, surprised that the blonde was even alive right now. He knew that Edward was a night owl, reading until the late hours of the morning. The two usually had late night texting conversations, texting until one of them would fall asleep. Usually Roy was the first one to pass out, Edward staying up until the small print in the books began to run together and he felt himself drifting off.

Edward nodded, a yawn suddenly escaping his lips. He was tired, since he had stayed up late reading a book as usual.

“And when did Al kick you out?” Roy asked, his eyes glued to the blonde. 

Edward shrugged, he wasn't quite sure when he had been kicked out. He just knew that he'd been wondering the school for a while, waiting for Al's text so that he could actually make some choices for himself. Maria was his speech pathologist after all. He should be able to make some decisions in what they work on this year. He had goals for himself that he'd hope to achieve this year. Like actually talking. He couldn't be mute forever, he didn't want to. He wanted to know what his own voice sounded like.

Because even he no longer knew what his own voice sounded like.

“Edward?” Roy asked, noticing the sudden sadness that came over Edward's expression. “What's wrong?”

Edward shook his head, _'Nothing's wrong'_ his gesture screamed. But it was a lie, and even he knew that. Everything seemed so wrong, nothing seemed right. He had never felt the need to speak before. Why did Resembol change that? For the past eleven years he was perfectly content being mute, why was everything changing now?

“You're a terrible liar, you know.” Roy said, leaning in a little closer. “I can read you like a book, something has you upset.” 

Edward closed his eyes and let out a sigh, _'Why does he care about me?'_ He asked himself. Another sigh left his lips, _'But I care for him too...'_ Edward thought. _'But it's different than how I care for Al and Winry, it doesn't feel the same...'_ The emotions he felt seemed to hit him with the velocity of an earthquake. No longer being able to take them, he let his head fall into his hands with a soft whimper escaping him. 

“Edward…?” Roy asked worriedly. He'd never seen Edward in such a state before. He gently brushed his hand against Edward's shoulder, not letting his touch linger too long. He knew Edward liked his space and wasn't too keen on people, minus Alphonse, touching him. “What's wrong?” He asked, his voice gentle.

Pulling a hand away from his face, Edward tentatively grabbed Roy's hand. With shaky fingers Edward wrote _'Everything'_.

“What do you mean?” Roy asked, confused as to what had the blonde upset. He watched as Edward’s shoulders began to shake, he felt a lump in his throat. Ever since the day Edward had a panic attack Roy feared that he'd have another one. That day had been not only scary for Edward but for him as well, watching the blonde go into a state such as the one he was in that day was quite frightening for Roy to see.

Edward let out a shaky breath, feeling nervous and scared at the same time. He began to bite on his lip, a bad habit he had developed during his childhood. He let his front teeth dig into the skin of his bottom lip, no pain registering to him. The self-mutilating behavior was a strange sort of comfort to him and he couldn't remember a time where he didn't do it.

“Hey,” Roy's rich voice broke through his thoughts, “stop that.” He commanded, referring to the harm Edward was doing to his lip. His hand softly brushing against Edwards shoulder, it wouldn't do anything to stop Edward's actions but it was something that was slowly becoming a habit of Roy's. 

Edward ignored Roy's request, and just to spite his friend he bit down harder. A small bubble of red began to show as Edward had achieved his goal and had broken through the layers of skin on his lips. But he did not stop; instead, he began to grind his teeth into his lip as he scrunched his eyes. Desperately trying to make his anxiety go away through actions he found comfort in.

“Stop it.” Roy commanded, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended. Reaching out he brushed his hand against Edward's cheek, his fingers lingering against the blonde's soft skin. It was such an intimate gesture that he was afraid Edward would recoil from his touch, but it was the only way he knew to get his point across. “Stop hurting yourself and tell me what's wrong.” He said, letting his hand fall away from Ed's tanned cheek.

With a ragged sigh Edward stopped, his teeth leaving his rosy colored lip. A bright red line was left on the outer portion of his lip, crimson colored blood seeping through the small wound. 

“Good.” Roy said, glad that his words got Edward to stop. “Now, what's wrong?”

Ed let out another sigh, shaking his head slightly. It wasn't something he could write in Roy's palm, and Roy understood very little sign language or that was out of the question. This is where their friendship met a halt. It was hard for the two to communicate. That was why Roy was learning sign language, so that there was no longer a barrier between the two of them communicating. 

“Do you want to type it on my phone?” Roy asked, noticing the struggle that Edward was having. Digging into his pocket, Roy pulled out his phone and unlocked it (1). He opened the virtual notepad on the phone and handed it to Edward. Ed took it with a small smile, glad that Roy was able to understand him without him even pointing out his problem. He began to type, the phone making soft noises with every letter that he typed. After a few seconds had passed he handed the phone back to Roy.

_'I'm just so confused right now. Everything is changing and I don't know if I'm ready for everything that's coming.'_

“What's changing?” Roy asked, handing the phone back to Ed. He was confused, it didn't seem like things were changing for the Elrics. He knew that Edward wasn't referring to the move, as it had been a whole month since the two brothers came to Resembol and Al always said Edward was happier here than in their old city.

Edward took the phone and began to quickly type, slightly surprised that he was confessing so much to Roy. Al was whom he shared all his problems with, Al was whom he confined in, and Al knew all his secrets. Yet here he was confessing problems to Roy that he hadn't even shared with Al yet. With a sigh, Edward handed the phone back to Roy.

_'Everything. Especially me.'_

“What's changing about you, Ed?” Roy asked softly, confused as to what Edward was talking about. He handed the phone back to the blonde and began to anxiously wait for his reply.

Edward's fingers flew against the screen, typing quickly before he lost the courage to confess what he was feeling. He took in a big breath before he handed the phone back to Roy.

_'Everything I've found comfort in since I was a child, my mutism, my feelings for you. I want to talk.'_

Roy smiled slightly as he read the sentence, _'So he feels something for me...'_ Roy thought. “What do you mean by feelings for me?” Roy asked as he handed the phone back to Ed, knowing that Ed's feelings for him shouldn't be his first issues to push. He probably should be questioning what was changing with Ed's mutism, but it truly wasn't his territory to enter. That was something for Edward and Alphonse to talk about. 

As Edward began to type, he felt his cheeks get hot. He knew that there was probably a pink blush across his cheeks, the tips of his ears probably coated in the same pink color as well. Averting his gaze away from Roy, Edward handed the sleek phone back to Roy.

_'I don't know. I care for you in a different way than I care for Al or Winry. I like to be around you, you make me happy in a different way. I don't understand it, but I don't want the feeling to go away.'_

Roy smiled as he read the sentence over and over again. Edward was describing a crush, but it sounded like the feeling of liking someone in a romantic way was foreign to him. _'He likes me, he likes me, he likes me.'_ Roy thought happily. “You make me happy too, Ed.” Roy said, his gaze turning from the phone to Edward. Edward wasn't looking at him; instead, his gaze was on the display case on the right side of the lobby. “Would you look at me, please?” Roy asked, his voice soft.

Edward slowly turned his attention back to Roy, finding Roy smiling at him. His dark chromatic eyes glimmered in the late morning sun, high lighting the bright blues in Roy's irises. Roy was not pushing him away, Roy seemed happy with what Edward had confessed to him. Edward didn't know what his feelings for Roy truly were, but as Roy began to lean in closer to him, Edward was not pushing him away. Edward leaned in a little, getting closer to him.

They were getting closer, close enough to feel each others breaths. Their noses were almost touching, breaths dancing on each other’s cheeks. Closer, and closer, their lips were almost touching-

Edward's phone began to beep.

Frantically Edward pulled away, a bright red blush adorning his cheeks. He began to dig in his pocket for his phone, his hands shaking. 

“T-That's Al, isn't it?” Roy said, suddenly finding it hard to breath or even think straight. 

Edward nodded, successfully pulling his phone out of his pocket. Unlocking his phone **(1)** he opened Al's text. As Al had said before, it said that Maria and him were ready for him to return to the meeting.

“Let's get you back to Al.” Roy said, not embarrassed by the action that almost took place but he was nervous as to what Edward was thinking. As Edward had said, he wasn't sure what his feelings for Roy truly were. But from the way Edward described it, he assumed the feelings were romantic. “Do you know what room you were in?” Roy asked.

Edward sifted through his memories, but after a few seconds he realized that he really had no idea where the room was. He shook his head, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

“ _Greeeeat_.” Roy said with a sarcastic grin, “Can I use your phone to call Al then?” Roy asked. Resembol High School was a large school and they didn't want to venture down every single hallway. Roy didn't know they even had a speech pathologist, nevertheless where said speech pathologist's office was.

Edward nodded, unlocking his phone, and once more he handed Roy his thin cell phone. Roy took it, careful not to drop the delicate piece of technology on the hard linoleum floor. He began to search through Edward's small list of contacts for Al's number, it didn't take him long to find the younger Elric's name. Clicking on Al's name, he was taken to a page that showed all of Al's information. The only real information Al had listed was his cell phone number. Roy clicked it and held the phone up to his ear as it began to ring. 

_'Hello?'_ Al's high-pitched voice answered, confused as to why his brother was calling him. After all, with Ed being mute and all there was no real reason Ed would call Al.

“Hey Al, it's Roy.” Roy said, crossing one leg over the other.

 _'Oh hi Roy! I imagine you ran into my brother.'_

“Yes I did!” Roy said with a smile, turning his eyes to Edward. Ed stood in front of him, twirling a finger around a long strand of blonde hair. “We've been hanging out for a bit in the south end of the school, but Ed doesn't seem to remember where his speech pathologist's office is. Can you tell me where it is?” Roy asked.

 _'If you go back to where the main entrance of the school is, there is a hallway to the right of the main doors.'_ Al said, pausing for a moment. _'Go down that hallway and it's room 186.'_

“Ok, thank you Al.” Roy said, hanging up the phone. He handed the slim device back to Edward, careful that the boy didn't drop it. Edward put it back into the deep pockets of his shorts. “Ok, let's get you back to your brother.” Roy said, standing up.

Edward nodded, following Roy as he walked out of the lobby.

As they walked back towards the main entrance of the school, neither of the teens brought up the kiss they almost shared. The walk was silent, and no attempt at a conversation was initiated. Both teens were thinking through their feelings, slightly confused as to what had almost taken place. The feelings between the two teens had taken a spin, friendship turning into something more.

\-----

“Okay Edward,” Maria said as she began to flip through a stack of paper work. “I don't really think the speech pathologist you had in Central was really helping you…” She muttered as she glanced through the quarterly reports Edward's previous speech pathologist had done last school year.

“Ed's speech pathologist in Central was...” Al stopped, trying to think of a nice way to address Ed's previous teacher. “…difficult.”

“I can see that.” Maria said, reading through the comments the adult had made on Edward's progress. _'Edward is a smart child but he is remarkably defiant when it comes to his speech.'_ was a comment Maria kept stumbling upon as she read through Edward's progress reports over the past several years.

Looking up, Maria focused in on Edward. He looked bored, as though he didn't want to be there. She could understand the teen’s boredom, since this meeting was not necessarily fun. It would've been easier if Maria's colleague was there to help, but Danny had decided right before school started was the best time to catch a summer cold. 

“Al, is it alright if I speak to Edward alone?” Maria asked.

“Oh of course!” Al said with a smile as he stood. “In fact, I think I'm going to go out and get us some lunch. Maria, would you like anything?” 

“No thank you.” She said with a smile, Alphonse was such a nice boy.

“Okay, be good brother!” Al said as he exited the room.

“Edward, I'd like you to make some decisions in what we do for you.” Maria said folding her hands underneath her chin. “You didn't get to have any input in therapy before so I'd like you to make some choices now.”

Edward nodded, finally turning his attention from the stark white walls.

“So, what would you like to work on this year?” Maria asked.

_'Talking.'_

“Oh really?” Maria asked, slightly surprised the teen was requesting something so big.

Edward nodded, _'I don't want to go through my life being mute anymore.'_

“Well that can be arranged, but it may take a long time before we get there.” Maria said. “Understand that and this year will go a lot smoother.”

Edward nodded, nibbling a little on his lip. Just thinking about him talking made him nervous. Of course he truly did want to talk, yet it was just a strange thought to him. Being mute was something he found comfort in; talking was something that gave him anxiety attacks.

“Now, how many times do you think we should meet a week?” Maria asked. 

Edward held up three fingers, that's usually how many times he would meet for therapy in the past.

“Okay, and do you want to start working on speech immediately?” Maria asked. Edward nodded, he was behind in speech by several years and he wanted to begin learning the things he missed out on immediately.

“I know you stopped speaking when you were six,” Maria said. “So luckily you didn't miss any language development...” She trailed off, skimming through the details of Edward's file. “I don't think there would be any problem with you actually speaking, but I do worry about the actual pronunciation of words.” Maria said. “But I know you're smart, so I think if you work really hard at this, you'll be able to achieve your goal.” Maria said with a smile.

Edward nodded, glad that Maria had faith in him. 

“Well, I think we have mostly everything covered for right now.” Maria said, closing the thick binder that held all of Edward's information in it. “There's still more that we need to talk about, but that will have to wait until the school year starts.” Maria said, watching Edward carefully. “I also need to talk some things over with my colleague and several other people, just to make sure we are approaching things in a good manner.”

Edward nodded, not really having more to say. He was happy that Maria understood him and his goals. She didn't tell him that they were hopeless or out of reach. Instead, she supported him and encouraged him.

“Well, I think we have quite a year ahead of us Edward.” Maria said, “Think you can handle it?” She asked, a small grin on her face.

Edward only nodded, a wide grin spread across his tanned face. This year would be a challenge for him, pushing him harder than he had been in a long time. But he was ready for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A speech pathologist is someone who works with children who have disabilities with their speech. Such as speech therapy, children who have language delays, etc.


	9. Somewhere I Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward's first day of school is not starting on the right foot, not when memories of his Mother are swallowing him while.

_Edward trembled with fear, his heart racing as he sank down to the floor. The touch of the cold hardwood floor was comforting to his sweaty skin, but it did little to ease his racing heart. He wasn't quite sure what had scared him; it always varied. Sometimes it was the neighbor’s dog, a big German Shepard that frightened him. Other times it was creepy sounds the house made._

_Alphonse had tried to comfort him, trying to ease his older brothers fears as always. But Edward had shunned him, rejecting any sort of comfort Al was offering. His younger brother shouldn't be comforting him, it was wrong, Edward should be the one comforting Al, easing his little brothers fears, telling him that monsters aren't real and that there is no reason to fear the dark. But instead, Al was the one who had to reassure his elder brother that there were no monsters and that nothing was hiding under his bed._

_He heard the sound of water running in the kitchen. Peering his head around the corner he saw his mother standing at the sink washing the dishes. She was wearing her favorite dress, a simple lilac colored piece that went a little past her knees, and her long chestnut hair rested in a low ponytail, the wavy locks nearly falling out of the lose hair tie._

_Edward watched as his Mother turned the water off, the sink now empty and all the dishes placed on the counter to dry. She turned towards the stove, drying her hands off with the towel that hung on the handle of the stove. She then turned towards the doorway, a wide smile on her face. Golden eyes met with warm chocolate orbs and a chuckle escaped the woman’s lips._

_“There's my little man!” Trisha said with a smile, “Come give your Mom a hug!” She said, taking a few steps towards the entryway._

_Edward smiled, moving from his hiding spot to the doorway. After a few seconds his smile widened, a silent giggle escaping his lips. He rushed from his spot in the doorway and launched himself into his mother’s arms. Once he felt his Mother's arms wrap around him he felt all his fears subside. His mother always made everything better, even if she didn't know he was scared._

_“That's my little man.” She said, lifting the boy up into her arms. “I love you, Edward.” She whispered into the boy’s ear. Wrapping his arms around her neck, Edward laid his head in the crook of her neck. A content sigh escaped his lips. 'I love you too, Mom...' he thought.  
_  
-

Edward blearily opened his eyes. Long blonde lashes fluttered as he tried to get the sleep out of his eyes. _'Mom...'_ he thought, realizing it was all a dream. A soft smile grew across his face as he thought of his Mother, thinking through the memories of his childhood. His Mother was his rock, his anchor, the one who understood him best. Edward missed her; there was still an ache in his heart as it had not quite been a year since she had passed. 

Sitting up, Edward looked over at the alarm clock that sat on his nightstand. The glowing red digital numbers on the clock told Edward that it was only five fifteen in the morning. Edward let out an annoyed puff of air, knowing there was no chance he'd fall back to sleep now. He needed to be up in half an hour anyway, as today was their first day of school and Edward had a meeting with Maria at seven. 

_'Might as well get ready.'_ Edward thought, getting up from his bed. He walked over towards his door and flipped the light switch on before walking to his dresser.

Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out a pair of dark wash jeans and set them beside him. Closing that drawer, he opened the drawer above it and began to rummage through it. He began to dig through his hefty amount of shirts, trying to find the absolute _perfect_ top to wear on his first day of his senior year. Finally, he settled with a short sleeve V-neck shirt that was a vivid red color. Moving to the top drawer, he quickly opened it and pulled out a clean pair of boxers.

After closing the remaining drawers, Edward gathered his clothes into his arms and walked out into the dark hallway. Walking into the bathroom, he turned the light on and sat his clean clothes on the counter before he shut the door. He quickly began to undress, throwing his dirty pajamas into the laundry basket. 

_'Time for a quick shower.'_

-  
The hot water felt good, so good it nearly lulled Edward back into the clutches of sleep. It relaxed his muscles, getting out every ache Edward hadn't noticed. The warmth was so deliriously good that Edward never wanted to leave the steamy shower. 

_'I have to get out soon.'_ He thought to himself, scrubbing his body with his fluffy loofah sponge. Soap began to cover his sun kissed skin, and the musky scent of mandarin and wood filled the shower. The bathroom slowly heated up, steaming up the small space.

Edward did his usual shower routine: shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, and repeat. He then rinsed his body off once more, watching as the foaming bubbles went down the drain. After that he lingered for a few more minutes, enjoying the warm water running down his body. After a few seconds he reluctantly turned off the water and watched as the remaining droplets slid down the drain. The cool air chilled his skin and he quickly hopped out of the shower and grabbed his fluffy towel. He quickly ran a towel through his head, not wanting the water to get all over the floor. After towel drying his hair he ran the fluffy cotton all over his body until he felt dry before he tied it around his waist. He then ran a hand over the mirror, wiping off all the steam until he could see his reflection. As usual, he looked like a drowned cat. Reaching over to a small basket that sat on the counter, he grabbed a brush and bottle of hair detangler. Spraying the product meant for small children all over his head, he quickly brushed out his long blonde locks till they fell into straight strands that fell just below his shoulders.

He quickly got dressed and tied his hair back into a low braid and threw the dirty towel into the hamper before he ventured downstairs. 

-

Downstairs was dark and empty, as Ed had suspected since it was only five forty-five in the morning. Al wouldn't get up until six fifteen. Ed knew it because Al _always_ woke up at six fifteen regardless if they had school or not. He truly was their Mother's child, and he shared many of her traits. Ed was more like their Dad, as much as he hated it.

Walking into the kitchen, Edward flipped the light on and walked over towards the fridge. Opening the door he began to eye the drinks, trying to decide what he wanted. He settled for orange juice, deciding it was better than the disgusting milk or Winry's precious soda. He pulled the juice out of the fridge and sat it on the counter while he dug through the cabinets for a glass. After he poured his drink and put the bottle back in the fridge he began to plunder through the cabinets looking for something to eat. Edward wasn’t quite sure what he wanted; he just knew he was hungry. There were many options: cereal, oatmeal, toast, waffles; the choices were endless. After pondering for several minutes, Edward decided that toast with jelly sounded like a good choice. 

In a matter of ten minutes, Edward had made his food. The bread came out perfect, a nice golden brown color, yet not too burnt. Edward spread a nice mix of butter and grape jelly on it; it tasted delicious. By the time Ed was done eating it was five after six, which meant Al would be up in ten minutes.

Edward quickly wrote a note to Al, telling the younger teen that he had left early and that he was taking their car. Leaving the note on the table, Edward quickly grabbed his backpack and ran out the door, carefully shutting the door so Den wouldn't bark.

-

The morning air was cool, a nice comfortable temperature that was neither too hot or cold. The sun was already peaking out and casting a soft glow on everything. The sky was clear and there was not a cloud in the sky. Edward loved mornings like these, especially ones that he could enjoy in solitude. As much as he loved Al and Winry, they could be a bit overbearing at times. Always worrying about him, treating him like a child at times…

Edward let out a sigh as he slid down onto the drivers seat, glad that he was finally able to drive the car that was his. _'Mom gave me this car, I don't know why Al goes around thinking that it's his.'_ Edward thought, letting out a puff of air as he shut the door. _'I'm older, I've had my license longer, it's rightfully mine.'_ Ed thought as he pushed the key in the ignition, a soft purr from the engine signaling the car had turned on. _'The title is in my name, I've made the payments on it, all Al's done is run the gas down.'_ Annoyed, Edward stole a glace at the gas meter as he put his seat belt on. A peeved sigh left his lips when he noticed the car was almost on empty. _'Good thing I left early.'_ Ed thought, pulling his phone out to look for the nearest gas station.

A few minutes passed as Edward carefully read the directions to the gas station that the GPS promised was only a five-minute drive away. He was determined to learn his way around the city before September, since he did not enjoy having to look up directions to every damn place in Resembol. Depending on the GPS made him feel useless and he _hated_ feeling useless.

He set his phone in the cup holder and put the car into drive, slowly making his way off his home street ten minutes later than he wanted to. Damn Al for making him go get gas for his car. 

-

Getting gas took a total of fifteen minutes. If he wasn't mute it would've taken him five.

The clerk was ignorant, his mind must've been fogged with sleep and working the nightshift of a shady looking gas station that looked as though everyone avoided it like the plague. Said clerk didn't seem to understand why Edward slid him a slip of paper that had the amount of gas Ed wanted written on it. He scratched his head idiotically and had to read it several times over before he understood Edward's request, charging Edward twenty-five dollars for half a tank of gas. Edward decided against filling the car up, deciding that if Al liked using up his gas so much then he could pay the forty or forty-five dollars for a full tank. 

It was only six-thirty, half an hour before his meeting with Maria, and he was left with nothing to do. Sitting in his car idly, he hadn't yet pulled out of the gas station as he pondered what to do. He was craving a cup of coffee, his mind still fogged with sleep. But being mute was difficult and he didn't feel like having another incident like he just had at the gas station so going to a coffee shop was out of the question. He knew he could have Al bring him one to school, but Al was probably mad at him for taking the car.

He could always text Roy, ask him to get him a cup of coffee and promise to pay him back. Roy would understand his situation, and he always said he could ask him if he needed a favor and it honestly didn't sound like that bad of an idea.

Picking his phone up, Edward pulled up the 'Messages' app and selected Roy's name, typing in a short messages that read _'Can you do me a favor?'_ and sat his phone back in the cup holder. Deciding that it was just a waste of time to sit at the gas station and wait for Roy's reply, Edward put the car in drive and began to slowly pull out of the small business. As he sat at the red light he picked his phone up, looking at the GPS to make sure he knew how to get to the school from the gas station.

As he read through the directions, watching the red light out of the corner of his eye, his phone went off. A banner at the top of the screen showed that Roy had texted back, so he quickly clicked it and watched as he was taken to his messages. The text read _'Of course, what is it?'_ Edward let out a sigh of relief because after waking up at five in the morning he was in need of a caffeinated beverage. 

He replied quickly, knowing that the light would change at any moment and that he wasn't suppose to be texting and driving anyway. His fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, _'Can you please get me a coffee? I'll pay you back.'_ The light changed just as Edward tossed his phone into the cup holder. He quickly turned and anxiously awaited Roy's reply.

As he drove, Edward took in the small city of Resembol. It was a little town, a good alternative to a busy city like Central. Edward loved it; it was nice and quiet and everyone seemed so happy. As he pulled up to another stop sign his phone went off again, so he quickly grabbed it and pulled up his messages to read Roy's reply.

_'Sure, what would you like?'_

Edward typed quickly, _'just get me a French vanilla drink, no milk though.'_

-

Edward got to the school in ten minutes and the parking lot was empty aside from several teachers’ cars. Ed got a nice spot in the front, right by the main entrance. He put the car into park and happily pulled the keys out of the ignition. Roy had agreed to meet him at his speech pathologist’s office to give him his coffee and Edward had never been so excited to get a caffeinated beverage.

It was six forty-five, meaning he only had fifteen minutes till his meeting with Maria. Edward decided that it did no harm to be early to the meeting, so he grabbed his backpack from the passenger seat and got out of the car. As he walked towards the entrance of the school Ed pressed the lock button on his keys, the car replied with a beep signaling that it had locked.

Edward cheerily walked through the school, glad that he and Al had gotten a thorough tour of the place a week prior. The building was silent and with every step Edward took on the linoleum floor the sound echoed and bounced off the walls. The silence was slightly eerie, which bothered Edward in ways he didn't really understand, but he brushed it off, turning down the lengthy hallway that he knew housed Maria's small office.

Maria reminded him of his Mother, and despite the lengthy months it had been since she passed- ten months and six days- it still hurt Edward to think of her. The fact that she was no longer there watching over him still made breathing painful. It almost made it hard to be around Maria, she was so much like his mother and he still missed his Mother so much...

A sigh passed through Edward's lips and he slid a little further in his chair. Maria had stepped out of the office to get some papers and Edward finally felt like he could _breathe_. His day had started out a little rough with waking up at five in the morning and memories of his Mother suffocating him to the core, and Roy still wasn't there with his _damn coffee_. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket but he made no notion to get it. He knew it was a text message from Al going off on how he did not enjoy riding to school in Winry's old beat up Chevy truck and how it wasn't very nice of him to take the car without asking. Did Al truly forget that the car was in _Edward's name?_

Glancing up at the analog clock that was in the corner, Edward saw that it was just seven o'clock. He mentally groaned. ' _Today is going to be a long day'_ he thought wearily. 

It was then that a soft knock sounded, waking Edward from his thoughts. Turning around, he wasn't surprised to see Roy standing in the doorway - after all, why would Maria knock when it was her office? - with a Styrofoam cup full of delicious coffee in his hand. 

Edward smiled, motioning for Roy to come in. Roy sent him one of his signature smirks as he sauntered into the room. “Did someone ask for some coffee?” He asked, his voice holding a slight smug tone to it.

Edward just shook his head at Roy's behavior, raising his hands up in a way that said _'just give me my damn coffee!'_ Roy chuckled at the blonde’s behavior. “Careful, it's hot,” he warned as he gently handed the cup to Edward. Edward carefully took it into his hands, not wanting to spill any of the blistering liquid on his hands. Moving the cup into his left hand, Edward signed _'thank you'_ to Roy. 

Roy, who still was only in the simple phrases of sign language, understood what Edward was saying and mimicked the motion, _'You're welcome'_ **(1)**. Roy didn't need words to understand Edward, and he truly didn't even need sign language to read Edward because Edward was like an open book, his eyes were windows to what he was feeling. He watched with great interest as Edward took a small sip of the coffee, not wanting to burn his tongue. Things between the two of them were a little hesitant, more hesitant than anything after the almost kiss that took place a week prior. Roy had backed off a little, after realizing that he was coming on a little too strong- _well_ Maes really told him that- and decided to be subtler. He'd let Edward decide things, wait for Edward to pursue him, wait for Edward to understand his feelings. 

“Do you know your class schedule yet?” Roy asked, suddenly breaking the silence between the two of them. 

Edward shook his head, pointing to the empty desk in front of him. A silent way of attempting to tell Roy that Maria had gone out to make a copy of it. He knew it probably came off wrong and that Roy was no different than the annoying clerk at the shady gas station that he swore he'd never go back to. Roy was not his Mother who never needed sign language or hand motions to understand him. Understanding him was something that came natural to his Mother. Even when he lost his voice she understood him. 

“Did she go to make a copy of it?” Roy asked, leaning against the cream colored wall, his hands pushed deep into his pockets. 

A smile broke way on Edward's lips. Roy never failed to amaze him. He nodded his head, taking another careful sip of his still steaming coffee. It tasted of sweet French vanilla and warmed Edward's taste buds in the best way possible. 

“I hope we have a class or two together.” Roy said, his voice soft as a hopeful smile spread across his lips. He already knew his schedule; he'd known it for a week now. As a senior his class schedule didn't differ from any other schedule he had during high school. Being a senior wasn't that different than being a junior. It just meant that you had somehow made it through twelve years of schooling. He'd only be excited for his classes if he knew he'd share at least one with Edward.

Edward nodded, _'me too.'_ The silent words echoed in his mind and never left the tip of his tongue. 

Roy stole a glance at the clock, five minutes after seven. He heard the sound of high heels clanking against the tile floor and he knew the footsteps belonged to Maria. “Well, I'm going to head to my homeroom now.” Roy said, taking a few steps towards Edward. “Have a good day Edward,” He said, his fingers tempted to brush against Ed's shoulder like he did the week prior. “I'll see you later.” He said, his voice falling into a low and husky tone. 

Edward nodded, sending Roy a warm smile. He signed another thank you to the teen and reluctantly watched as he exited the office. He could hear Maria's high heels echoing through the hallway and he knew his lengthy meeting was about to begin. 

-

AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP Calculus, AP English, AP Biology, AP Government, and two classes that Maria knew Edward didn't even need to take but needed to put on his schedule so he had a total of seven classes.

With a schedule like that, Maria still found it hard to believe that Edward needed her. But as she watched Edward fidget in his seat, seemingly detached from the conversation they were having, she knew he wasn't a delinquent teen who didn't want to speak. But yet, he truly didn't know _how_ to speak. Someone had stolen his voice, the man who held him hostage as a child had set fear deep inside Edward and the anxiety still showed at age seventeen.

The signs of abuse were obvious, not just in the scars but in Edward's behavior. 

Denny Brock had _finally_ showed up, ten minutes late with a tie hanging around his neck and an uncombed bedhead. He went to introduce himself to Edward and Maria watched him _visibly_ tense. Danny noticed it too and immediately retreated to his desk in the corner, knowing that he would have to ease into Edward.

Their meeting hadn't taken too long, a glance at the clock told Maria that it was only seven-thirty. She watched Edward carefully as he played with the piece of paper in his hand, just waiting to be dismissed. Her eyes lingered on him, eyeing the many scars that grazed his body. The large scars that ran across his cheek, the thick band of scarred skin around his neck, the pink skin that peeked out from the sleeve of his shirt... The sad look in his bright golden eyes.

“Are you alright Edward?” Maria asked, her voice soft like a mother comforting her child. 

Edward did not lift his head, acting as though he did not even notice her presence. His fingers stayed busy, fiddling with the piece of paper in his hand. Maria was just about to repeat the question, thinking Ed had not heard her request, when Edward nodded his head in the slightest way. Looking up, he locked his golden eyes with her chocolate colored irises. _'May I be dismissed now?'_ he asked, his hands moving so quickly that she barely understood them. 

“In a minute you may.” Maria said, “Edward, we got along so well the last time we met, what happened?” She asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. It seemed the best way to deal with Edward was to be blunt.

Edward's eyes darted away from hers, his eyes becoming thin golden slits. Maria watched with a careful eye, moments like these always helped her understand her students. She watched as Edward's brows furrowed and he took a breath that looked like it pained him to do so. Another painful looking breath escaped his lips before he turned his attention back to Maria. _'You-'_ he faltered, stopping just for a moment as he rubbed his eyes and a sad smile spread across his lips, _'remind me of my Mother.'_

“Al told me you two were very close.” She said, “I'm very sorry, Edward I know you must miss her.”

Missing her was an understatement, he missed her so much no one else even understood. Only Al, only Al understood his pain and why the first few months after she had passed it hurt him to even move. Even at ten months and six days- oh dear god, had it been _that_ long?- since she passed it still hurt to even think about her. _'You don't even begin to understand.'_ Edward signed, sending her a look that almost looked like a glare.

“Edward,” Maria began, folding her hands under her chin, “over the course of the year we will be spending a lot of time together, and I'd like it if we got along.” Her eyes focused onto Edward's molten gold eyes.

Edward said nothing for a moment, merely studying Maria as if he were looking for a sign of something. But after a few seconds passed his face relaxed and a small smile broke through. _'Yes, I understand.'_ Edward signed, his hands moving slowly for once. _'May I please go now?'_ He asked.

“Yes, you may.” Maria said with a sigh, her hands falling into her lap. “I will see you tomorrow, have a good day Edward.”

Edward smiled and signed a quick thank you before rushing out the door.

“He's a case, isn't he Danny?” Maria said as she shook her head.

Danny lifted his head up from his work and nodded, “We're going to have quite the interesting year.”

–

Maria said the teachers 'understood' he couldn't- didn't- talk, and they did.

But that didn't mean the students did.

They all tried to talk to him, make small talk and ask about Central like it was some foreign country. When Edward didn't reply, they sent him glares and all Edward could do was sigh and brush it off. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with this before, yet he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang and the first half of the school day was over. A lunch break was much needed.

As he walked through the crowded hallway he thought about whom he would be eating lunch with. He already knew Al would be there. Al made it his mission to have lunch with his brother, so that 'he wouldn't be lonely'. Edward merely rolled his eyes when Al told him that. He didn't need Al to keep him company- he enjoyed solitude and Al just didn't seem to understand that.

“Edward!”

A voice called his name, but Edward ignored it. Not because he was being rude, but because the hallway was too crowded to even turn around to see who it was. So, Edward merely kept trudging through the crowds of people and tried to keep up with the flow of traffic in the hallway.

“Edward!” The voice shouted again, its tone smooth like melted chocolate and warm like velvet. “Hey, wait up!”

Roy, it had to be Roy calling his name. Ed didn't know anyone else with a voice like his, like chocolate and velvet. Turning around, a smile tugged its way onto Edward's lips as he caught sight of Roy racing through the crowd with a big grin on his face. 

He met Roy halfway, ignoring all those who sent him a snarl for messing up the hallway traffic. They'd just have to deal with it; besides, he wasn't the only one doing it. Roy's face lit up when he finally got to where he wanted to be- standing beside Edward. “Hey.” Roy said, slightly breathless from trying to catch up with Edward. Edward merely smiled at Roy, signing a simple _'Hi'_ to Roy. 

“Want to sit together at lunch?” Roy asked as the two maneuvered their way through the packed hallway. Edward merely nodded, happy that he'd have someone to talk to other than his overprotective brother.

-

At lunch Roy introduced Edward and Alphonse to his group of friends, all of which seemed very nice. There were three of them, all of which seemed very different from the other, yet they all seemed to compliment the other.

First, there was Heymans Breda, a stocky built guy who was loud and proud. Edward could easily tell he was a football player; he was built like one and was loud like one. Then there was Jean Havoc, a tall guy who seemed rather laid back. Ed and Al both agreed he fit the country boy look with his shaggy blond hair and loose fitting clothes. Jean seemed to be good friends with Breda, the two seemed glued at the hip. Then there was Kain Fuery, who didn't seem to fit with the other guys. Kain was a small guy, thin and short compared to Jean and Roy. He also seemed more on the nerdy side with his thick black glasses, but he seemed rather intelligent. 

After their introductions the three sat down across from Edward and Al while Roy sat on the other side of Edward. “Now guys,” Roy said after he took a bite of his food “There is one thing I didn't mention about Edward…” Roy trailed off, looking at Alphonse for a bit of help and ignoring Edward's glares. Al merely nodded, understanding Roy's looks.

“My brother is mute.” Al said rather bluntly, “He doesn't speak, but I can assure you he's a great listener when he wants to be.” A chuckle escaped his lips. He hoped his attempt to lighten the seriousness of his former statement worked. Al stole a glace at Edward, only to be met with a deep scowl.

“So that's why you didn't say anything in AP Calc!” Fuery exclaimed, his voice holding a tone of excitement at the realization. “Almost everyone in the class wondered why you never said anything, since usually the teachers have new kids introduce themselves but Mr. Falman didn't make you.” 

Edward shrugged, not bothered by the fact his classmates were essentially gossiping about him. He was used to it, he was always the black sheep in school.

No one else spoke for a minute. All was silent while the others soaked up the information. 

“That's ok, I like quiet guys.” Breda said, a warm smile on his face. His tough football player attitude diminished for a minute and one could see the nice guy that hid under his tough exterior. 

Havoc remained quiet for a minute, and it took a hard nudge from Breda to get him to speak. “You're different.” Havoc said bluntly, “I like it.” A smile broke across his face in an attempt to lighten his bluntness.

Edward took a glance at all the people that surrounded him: his brother, Roy, Havoc, Breda, and Fuery. Everyone was gathered up in their own conversations, taking about their plans for the new school year. Edward, as usual, remained distant. His thoughts lingered on the people that surrounded him and how different his life was now than a year ago. A brush against his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts, lifting his large golden eyes from his food up to meet with Roy's black orbs.

“You okay?” Roy asked, a genuine look of concern on his face. “You seem kind of out of it.”

Edward nodded, a large grin forming on his face. His life in Resembool was very different than his life in Central in more ways than one. But the most profound difference between Resembool and Central was for the first time in Edward's life he felt like he had friends.

The thought of his new friends only made Edward's smile widen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just followed my high schools schedule for them. Also, 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' are the same sign!


	10. Clear Eyes, Full Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria has her eyes set on learning about Ed's childhood, while Roy has his set on seeing Edward at the Homecoming game on Friday.

“Tell me about your childhood, Ed.” Maria said, fiddling with the pen in her hand.

_'I thought I was here for speech therapy.'_ Edward signed, an annoyed look on his face. 

“Yes you are, but you have a type of mutism that is generally induced by trauma, so I'd like to hear about your childhood,” Maria said as she flipped through some papers. “I understand you don't fully remember some of your earlier years. Alphonse has mentioned that you don't remember anything prior to when you were seven...” She trailed on, “Is that correct?”

Edward merely nodded.

“Alright, well why don't you tell me about some of your earliest memories.” Maria prompted. She knew that speech therapy would be near impossible without breaking the wall that Edward had put up to block the memories of the trauma he had endured. 

_'You won't tell Al anything I tell you, right?'_ Edward asked. He always asked her not to relay anything he said to Al. He didn't like the thought of his younger brother worrying about him.

“My lips are sealed.” Maria said with a warm smile. It had been nearly three weeks since school started and over the course of their meetings Edward had begun to open up to her, though he was still walking on eggshells around Denny. Despite the fact that they were both supposed to be working with Edward, Denny had to be left out due to Edward's anxiety around him.

_'Lately I've been suddenly remembering things from when I was little…'_ Edward trailed off, his eyes gazing off into the distance as if he were remembering something. 

“Like what?” Maria asked, suddenly scribbling down some notes.

_'Different things.'_ Edward answered. _'I'm standing at the top of a staircase, I'm in a basement, I'm crying, I'm screaming... They're not good and they usually visit me in my dreams.'_ Edward paused for a minute. _'I wonder if they really happened or if they're just nightmares.'_

This was definitely a good sign. “Can you tell me a little more about these dreams, Edward?” Maria asked as she began to make notes on what Edward had said.

_'I'm always in a basement. It's cold and dark and I'm afraid.'_ Edward answered, and Maria watched as he visibly stiffened. _'There’s a man whose voice is soft and creepy. I never see his face, but his glasses are always shining in the light.'_ He continued as he began to fidget in his seat. _'He hurts me.'_

“How does he hurt you?” Maria asked.

_'It's always different.'_ Edward answered, his fidgeting beginning to become more intense. _'He cuts my face with knives, hits me... it's never the same.'_

“What else does this man do?” Maria asked

Edward was beginning to get anxious. He could not stop moving and he wasn't sure why. _'He restrains me.'_

“With what?” Maria asked. Her eyes left her notepad for a moment before quickly returning to the white lined paper.

_'He makes me wear a dog collar.'_ Edward answered. His anxiety began to run high, and Maria could see that she wasn't going to get much more out of Edward today. Edward's breathing began to get ragged. _'Can we please stop?'_ he asked.

“Of course.” Maria said as she closed her notepad, a warm smile gracing her face. “You did great, Ed.”

Edward didn't acknowledge her compliment. _'Can I go back to class?'_ he asked.

“Why don't you stay here and settle down. There's only a few minutes left anyway.” Maria suggested. 

_'No, I really need to get back to class. I can't miss anything we have-'_

“Edward, it'll be _fine_.” Maria said, moving from her desk so that she could stand in front of Edward. Gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “You've got yourself all worked up; why don't you take a few minutes to relax and I'll contact your teacher and have someone send the work down.”

_'But I really-'_

“Edward, it'll be fine.” Maria said. “You're usually in AP Chemistry now, right?”

A sigh escaped Edward’s lips. He had not expected Maria to be this persistent about him staying. _'With Mrs. Curtis, yes.'_ He answered reluctantly. 

Maria nodded as she walked back to her desk and reached for the phone, dialing a few numbers before she held it up to her ear. A few seconds passed before she spoke, “Hi Izumi…” she started, but Edward became bored with the conversation and began to zone her voice out. He focused only on his thoughts. Everything else was locked out of Edward's mind.

Edward began to wonder about the dreams he'd been having, the strange dreams that felt so realistic but yet so very delusive at the same time. But that voice, so soft... It sent chills down Edwards spine. Something about the voice was so very _real_ … Edward couldn't put a face to it, but he just knew he had some sort of connection with the voice. The fact that the voice that echoed in his dreams seemed so real only meant that the dreams _were_ real, and that thought nearly made Edward choke on nothing but air.

“Edward?” Maria's soft voice broke through his thoughts. 

Edward looked up to find a concerned Maria looking down on him. She smiled at him, but concern was still visible in her eyes. “Mrs. Curtis has sent someone down to deliver the homework,” she said as she walked back to her desk. “They should be here anytime now.”

Edward's brows furrowed in confusion, _'Wouldn't it have made more sense for me to go get the work before the end of the day?'_ He asked, slightly annoyed that Maria didn't find him capable of getting his own schoolwork. God, even if Al wasn't with him he still had someone treating him the same way- like he was a helpless child.

“Mrs. Curtis said that at first, but apparently a student offered to come bring the work down,” Maria said as she leaned back into her chair. Her dark chocolate eyes fixed on Edward, carefully watching his body language. She was particularly interested by the fact that Edward's leg was shaking, and had been for the past five minutes. “Are you alright Edward?” She asked, “You seem nervous.”

Edward carefully took in a slow gulp of air, _'I'm fine.'_ He assured her. Mentally he rolled his eyes. He surely did not need another Al around to worry about him, one Al in his life was definitely enough. His golden eyes traveled around the room before setting on the large analog clock that was housed in the far right corner of the wall. There were five minutes left in the class period, and after this class Edward only had his AP Government class before the day was over and he could go home and relax.

_'When will this stop being a therapy session and actually start being speech therapy?'_ Edward suddenly asked, his golden eyes hard with annoyance. He was done spending his time in the small office talking about trivial things like his dreams and memories of his childhood. He wanted to actually learn about speech.

Maria rose an eyebrow in surprise. “Well that depends on a lot of things Edward,” she started. “We can't start teaching you how a letter sounds if you can't say it. We have to crack the mystery of why you don't speak before we can start teaching you how to speak.” Maria said as she thumbed over the thick manila folder that held all of Edward's information.

Edward took his time carefully processing Maria’s words. _'You know, you're the first person to tell me that.'_ He signed, a thin smile forming on his lips.

“To tell you what?” Maria asked, confused about what Edward was referring to.

_'That you'll teach me how to speak and that there is a reason behind why I don't speak that doesn't involve me being defiant.'_

Maria took note of what Edward said, that his former speech pathologist didn't realize the true reason behind Edward's muteness and didn't take it as seriously as they should have. She had an entire separate folder full of papers from Edward’s speech pathologist in Central that she needed to examine. 

“When we meet on Friday maybe we should talk about your previous speech pathologist,” Maria suggested, tapping her pen lightly on the desk.

_'Don't you have a folder full of information about that idiot?'_ Edward asked, his smile turning into a deep scowl. 

“I do, but that doesn't tell me about _him_.” Maria said, eyeing the thick folder that was full of useless information. “But I'm sure you know that folder only tells me so much, I would like to hear about it from you.” 

Edward was about to send her a snarky reply, telling her that he didn't feel like talking about the dumb ass that was his former speech pathologist, but just as he went to sign his reply there was a knock on the door. _'Whoever you are, you have saved me from that damn conversation'_ Edward thought with a sigh of relief.

“Come in!” Maria called. “I guess we'll just have to finish this conversation on Friday, Edward.” She commented to the golden-headed teen. Edward just rolled his eyes in a typical Edward fashion.

The door opened to reveal Roy Mustang, to which Edward threw his head back in embarrassment. _Of course_ Roy would be the one to come see Edward when he was anxiety ridden and thoroughly pissed off. Roy didn't seem to notice anything out of sorts and sent the petite teen a smile. “Hello Edward.” He said cheerily as he walked into the office, “Here's the work you missed today.” 

_'Thank you.'_ Edward replied, reaching for the thin stack of papers that Roy held. Roy handed them to his friend. _'You're welcome'_ he signed as soon as the papers were out of his hand. In three weeks his sign language was still only in the simple stages, but he was getting better. However, he knew he'd never be as fluent in it as Edward and Al were, since they had been signing since they were small children.

Just as Roy was about to say more, the bell rang, it's loud beep echoing in the hallway. As soon as its annoying sound faded, students packed the hallway, racing to get to their last class of the day. Edward began to furiously pack up, ready to leave Maria's office and all the anxiety it caused him at times -especially today. Unzipping his backpack he shoved the papers Roy gave him in it, not caring how crumpled they became. He was just about to fly out the door when Roy's hand caught his arm, “Wait!” The ebony haired teen called. 

Edward's head whipped back to face the person who was holding him back, a glare setting into his face. _'What?!'_ He signed angrily.

“Why don't we walk to class together?” Roy asked, ignoring Edward's scowl. He let his grip on the blond fall, realizing the teen wouldn't rush off.

Edward shrugged his shoulders, _'Sure.'_ He signed. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he began to step out of the office, not even bidding farewell to Maria.

A wide grin took over Roy's face as he joined the teen in the hallway. 

-

AP Government always seemed to drag on. Every minute felt like an hour, and Edward always had to force himself to say awake. He assumed that the boringness of class wasn't because of the subject matter; Amestris’ government wasn't all that boring. He figured it was because it was his last class of the day, and the fact that Mr. Bradley was quite the dull teacher did not help. At least Roy, who was sitting next to him, was keeping him entertained in the final minutes of the class period.

_'Your joking!'_ Edward signed as he chuckled softly.

“No I'm serious,” Roy said with a grin. “Every time one of the other teachers is sick or something, Mr. Bradley gives them a whole melon.”

Edward chuckled at the thought of Mr. Bradley placing a whole melon on another teacher’s desk. _'This school is completely different than my old one.'_ Edward thought as he began to pack up his things. As he threw the thick textbook in his backpack, the final bell rang, signaling the school day was over and Edward was free to go home and do whatever he wanted. Edward zipped his backpack up, throwing it over his shoulder as he got up from the hard plastic seat. 

“Hey Edward.” Roy called from beside him.

Edward turned to face his friend, a look of curiosity on his face. _'Yes?'_

“Why don't we walk out to the parking lot together?” Roy suggested as he got up from his seat, following Edward's actions and swinging his bag over his shoulder. 

Edward nodded in response, enjoying the time he was spending with his new friend. The two had become good friends in the past few weeks. They shared their last three classes of the day and often spent the evenings working on their homework together. The two walked out of the classroom together in silence, their focus more on getting out of the busiest hallway in the school than talking.

-

“So are you going to the homecoming game on Friday?” Roy asked as the two walked out to the parking lot. The afternoon sun was bright and the temperature was cool for the second week of September. Roy began to search for his beloved Mustang, his eyes scanning the crowded parking lot for the shiny black exterior.

Edward shrugged in response. He knew that Al and Winry were going, but he hadn't yet decided if he wanted to go. Sports didn't interest him much. Sure, he loved his martial arts, but anything other than that bored him. He'd much rather spend his time reading or playing his PSP than watching a group of guys chase after a ball and try to get a touchdown.

Roy spotted his car in the second row, parked next to the Elric brothers’ silver Mazda. “Did you drive today?” Roy asked, curious about who had won the daily battle over the car.

Edward sent him an arrogant grin, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket and twirling them around his index finger. Roy chuckled, “So I take it that Winry's old Chevy truck is out there somewhere?” he said as his dark sapphire eyes began to scan the lot for the rusty old truck.

Edward nodded before he began to walk towards their cars, motioning for Roy to follow him. Roy nodded, following the blond teen as he requested. “So are you going to the Homecoming dance on Saturday?” Roy questioned, looking both ways before he crossed the busy parking lot.

Edward let out a chuckle before shaking his head. No, he was definitely _not_ going to the dance on Saturday. He had no date and he had no interest in said dance, so why waste his time and money on it? As the two approached their cars he sent Roy a curious glance, _'You?'_ He signed. Careful not to be too quick or use too many words so that he didn't confuse Roy.

“Nope.” Roy answered, unlocking his car and throwing his book bag inside. “No point in it.” He added, turning his eyes back to Edward. The blond was leaning against his car with hands dug deep into his pockets and golden eyes gazing into the distance. “You should really think about going to the game on Friday...” He trailed off, resting his arm across the top of the car door.

Edward cocked his head to the side, _'Why?'_ he asked, thoroughly confused as to why Roy was asking him of his weekend plans and why said 'homecoming' seemed to be so important. 

“It's a lot of fun, plus all the guys are going to be there.” Roy said, “And after the game is over we always go over to Jean’s house for an after party and have popcorn and watch TV, hang out for an hour or two.” Roy continued on, trying to convince Ed that he should go. “I'm sure Jean wouldn't care if Al and Winry came.” 

Edward shrugged his shoulders, still not sure if he really wanted to go to the game or not. The stadium was going to be crowded; he knew the team they were playing was the school’s biggest rival and therefore it would be the most popular game of the season. Ed wasn't quite sure if he wanted to get involved with a packed stadium full of rowdy teenagers. 

“Well, think about it, ok?” Roy asked, hoping that Edward would change his mind. He really wanted to spend more time with Edward, get closer to the silent teenager and hopefully change their relationship. He wasn't trying to force himself on Edward, he knew that Edward obviously felt _something_ for Roy that wasn't just friendship. The near kiss the two shared right before school started proved that, though they never really talked about that incident. 

Edward nodded, unlocking his car and throwing his backpack in the backseat before slamming the door shut. He stole another glance at Roy, who was gazing off in a near trance, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips for some unknown reason. He tapped at the top of Roy's car with his slender fingers to catch to raven-haired man’s attention. Roy quickly whipped his head around to face Edward, who in turn chuckled at his reaction. _'Bye.'_ He slowly signed, his fingers moving in an unusually slow manner.

“Bye Edward, I'll talk to you later.” Roy said, watching the petite teen get into his car. The motor started with a soft hum and as Roy got into his own car his gaze lingered on the sleek silver car as it sped out of the student parking lot. 

As he drove home, his thoughts remained on Edward and what could be and what he wanted Edward to be to him.


	11. We Own It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria's good about pushing Edward's buttons, Roy's good at pushing Ed to go to the football game with him.

-

 

“So Edward, let's talk a little bit about your former speech pathologist.” Maria said, her fingers fiddling with the corner of a manila folder.

 Edward turned his head to face Maria, _'Do we have to?'_ he asked with an annoyed glare.

“Well, we agreed on it when we met on Wednesday, so yes.” Maria said, flipping open the manila folder. She began to quickly skim over the first piece of paper, looking for some information about Edward’s accommodations in Central. "“I see his name was Solf Kimblee. Tell me about him.” She asked, turning her attention back to Edward.

Edward rolled his eyes at the mention of the name. Resting his elbow on the armrest he placed his cheek in his hand. _'I hate him,'_ he answered simply, his eyes gazing off into the distance. He hated everything about Central, so why did people keep bringing it up? 

“Why do you hate him, Ed?” Maria asked, intrigued by the boy’s vivid emotions toward the man.

 _'For everything he did,'_ Edward quickly signed, his eyebrows furrowing and an ample frown spreading across his lips. For a brief second, Maria saw a world of hurt painted in Edward's topaz tinted irises, but they returned to their normal hard stare as soon as he blinked.

“What did he do?” Maria asked, her voice soft and careful. This week she had made notable progress with the teen; she didn't want to go back to where they were a week ago. If she wasn't careful with her questions, they would go back to step one and Maria definitely did not want that.

Edward didn't respond to her right away, and Maria did not push his response. She remained quiet, watching as the teen stared into space, patiently waiting for the blond to answer her question. Edward slowly closed his eyes; long blonde lashes resting gently on his cheeks. He let out a loud sigh, slightly shaky as it pressed through his lips. Gently, he ran his fingers through his long bangs. _'Can we please be done for today?'_ He asked, never opening his eyes.

Maria could see that Edward was deeply hurt by Kimblee, which only made her question even more what the man did. “We won't be much longer, I promise,” Maria said, choosing not to mention that there was still forty-five minutes left in the session.

  _'Can we talk about something else then?'_ Edward asked. His hands were slow as they went through several gestures.

 “Edward, I really would like to know about Kimblee,” Maria said, making sure her tone remained calm and gentle. She wanted to get the information out of the boy today, then they could move onto other topics next week.

 “ _You're such a brat Eddie! I know you can talk, so let's stop all this pretending and move on!”_

 Edward let out another deep sigh, slowly opening his eyes. _‘He never believed that I was mute, he put a definite label on me, and used unorthodox ways try to get me to speak. Happy?'_ Edward signed, his motions quick and nearly hard to follow.

 Maria quickly grabbed a pen, scribbling notes in Edward's thick manila folder. “Can you tell me some of the things he would do?” Maria asked, lifting her gaze up from the folder so that she wouldn't miss Edward's quick hand movements.

 _'He wouldn't talk to me like you do.'_ Edward answered, not exactly answering Maria's question. Edward was good at dodging questions he didn't want to answer; he was always able to change the subject. But today Maria wasn't going to let him get his way, she wanted answers and she wanted them _now._

 “How do I talk to you, Ed?” Maria asked, curious as to what the blonde meant. She watched as he began to fidget in his seat, his eyes continuously looking up at the analog clock.

 _'Like we're equal,'_ Edward said, turning his attention back to Maria as a thin smile came across his lips.

“And how did Kimblee treat you?” Maria asked, resting her cheek in her hand.

Edward's trademark scowl returned at the mention of Kimblee. He bowed his head and let out a sigh. _'Like I was pretending to be mute. He didn't believe I really was mute and would constantly try to get me to speak.'_ Edward let out a watery laugh, _'Obviously it didn't work if I'm sitting here with you!'_

“How would he try to get you to speak?” Maria asked, quickly writing down more notes about Kimblee before lifting her head up to catch Ed's reply.

“ _Edward, if you don't say something I will show you what hell is really like.”_

 Edward took a deep breath, darting his eyes to the clock in the corner. Watching the hands ticking by, seconds turned into minutes before the petite teen even moved. _'Do I have to?'_ He asked, his hands unusually slow as they conveyed the words he craved to speak.

 Maria took notice of Edward's hesitant behavior. Every time the conversation led back to _how_ Kimblee tried to get him to speak the teen would freeze up. Obviously Kimblee had been no help to Edward at all. Had Edward gone to a different speech pathologist when he was younger, he probably would've been speaking by now. “Edward, did you always have Kimblee as your speech pathologist?” Maria asked, taking the conversation away from Kimblee for the time being.

 Edward didn't reply for a moment, _'No… I didn't,'_ he answered. _'When I was in elementary school I had a different one, a woman.'_

 “I don't believe I have a record of her...” Maria said as she flipped through the papers in Edward's file, “Can you tell me about her?”

  _'Her name was Miss. Thomas, but I was allowed to call her Rose because my sign language was very minimum at the time since I was really little.'_ Edward began. _'She was really nice. I was with her a lot because she's the one who taught me sign language. She always gave me candy and she made learning sign language really fun!'_ Edward said with a wide grin. _'Everything was really frustrating then, I couldn't talk and didn't know how to communicate with others since I was so young. She really made a difference in my life.'_

 Maria smiled at the sight of Edward so happy. Usually when they discussed his past he would get very anxious but today was different. “It sounds like you really enjoyed your time with her.” Maria said, still flipping through the file to find record of 'Miss. Thomas'.

  _'Are we done now?'_ Edward suddenly asked, knowing the conversation would go back to Kimblee soon.

 “Not quite, Edward.” Maria said. Looking down at her watch she saw that they still had twenty minutes remaining in their session. “We have some time left and I'd really like to get an idea of what would go on in your sessions with Kimblee,” Maria said, turning her gaze back to Edward with a small smile on her face. “You don't have to go into detail today, I just want to know how he would approach getting you to speak.”

 “ _Eddie-boy, I know all of your fears... So unless you say something I may have to use that knowledge to my advantage...”_

 Edward tensed up as the memories of Kimblee came back to him. He took in a deep breath of air, trying to not let the memories take hold of him. He felt his teeth dig into his lip, the painful sensation calming him in a familiar way. _'He just wasn't nice,'_ Edward signed, taking in another deep breath.

 Maria knew this was hard for Edward, she could see it in the way he acted. The teen had gone through quite a bit of trauma in his life and Maria knew that Kimblee had somehow added to that, she only wished she could get Edward to talk about it more. “Can you tell me more?” Maria asked, her voice soft in an attempt to calm the teen.

  _'He...would intimidate me, mock me in an attempt to get me to speak...'_ Edward sighed, his hands shaking as he signed out the words.

 “How would he mock you?” Maria asked, quickly scribbling the new information down in Edwards file.

 “ _Aww, have I upset the little midget?”_

  _'He'd tease me about my height, knowing that it was something I was sensitive about,'_ Edward signed, quickly shifting in the chair. Bringing his knees to his chest, Edward wrapped his arms around his legs in an attempt to comfort himself. _'Knowing I'd get frustrated because I couldn't argue back or really let out my anger.'_

 “That sounds very frustrating.” Maria said, lifting her head up from Edwards file to watch the teen’s reaction.

 Edward merely nodded, _'Are we done now?'_ He asked once more, _'I'd really like to go back to class.'_

 “We have five more minutes Edward.” Maria said. “Why don't you stay here for the remaining time and calm down?”

  _'But I really want t-'_

 “Edward,” Maria started, getting up from her seat so that she was standing in front of the teen. “You're a little worked up right now. I'm going to go next door and talk to Denny, so why don't you stay here in the quiet and get yourself all collected before you go to lunch?”

 Edward just nodded, knowing that he wasn't going to get his way. Letting out a sigh, he rested his head on his knees.

 Maria smiled, “I'm going to go talk to Denny now, I'll see you on Monday, Edward.” She said. She then walked to the door on the left side of the room, leading her to Denny's office. “Have a good weekend, Ed.” She said before disappearing into her colleague’s office.

 Edward merely sat there, his teeth digging into his lip as memories of Kimblee and Central flooded back to him.

 –

 The rest of Edward’s day passed by with ease; his classes were laid back and relaxing since it was Friday and everyone's mind was on the dance that would be occurring the following evening. Yet, despite how easy his day was going, Edward still felt on edge. His morning session with Maria weighed heavily on his mind; the thoughts of Kimblee refused to leave him alone.

 In his last class of the day, Government, Edward found it hard to focus on Mr. Bradley and the topic of the government during the Ishval war. He found himself zoning out, his thoughts going back to the topic of Kimblee. He found himself going back to his last few sessions with Kimblee, the cruel events that had taken place the final days he had spent with him before his junior year had ended.

 “ _You know Edward, if you continue to keep up this facade no one will like you.”_

 He took in a big, shuttering breath. Despite how much had changed since May, Kimblee's words still had an effect on him and they still hurt.

 “Ed?”

 Roy's chocolaty smooth voice broke through his thoughts, quieting the painful voices in his head. He turned to face his friend, who bore a look of concern. Cocking his head to the side, Edward sent him a questioning look as if he were saying _'hm?'_

 “Are you alright?” Roy asked, “You haven't been acting like yourself today…” Concern was evident in his voice as he spoke, his worried gaze resting heavily on Edward.

 Edward forced out a smile in an attempt to lighten Roy's concern. After all, he didn't need another Al on his case. _'I'm fine.'_ He signed, knowing that Roy would understand the simple gestures. Roy watched the teen carefully, noticing how the smile didn't reach his eyes and how Edward's hands shook as he signed the simple words.

 Deciding that Edward's wellbeing was far more important than Mr. Bradley's lecture on Amestrian government, Roy toned out the teacher’s monotone voice and put his focus solely on Edward. “I know you're lying.” Roy said, his voice soft.

 Edward shook his head, turning his gaze away from Roy and back to Mr. Bradley. Flipping his notebook opening, he began to frantically scribble down the notes that were written on the white board. Roy watched as Ed's pen flew across the paper, his messy scrawl soon filling up the page. His golden eyes clouded with frustration as he tried to keep up with the teacher.

 “Edward, I can see that something is wrong...” Roy whispered, scooting his seat a little closer to the petite teen. “You've been acting different since lunch, what's on your mind?”

 Edward paid no attention to Roy's pestering; his only focus remained on the lesson. Tearing his gaze away from the whiteboard, Edward turned to the analog clock that rested above the door. _'2:45...'_ He thought, _'Twenty minutes till the weekend.'_

 Roy let out a sigh, realizing he wouldn't get anything out of Ed. Edward had a one-track mind, and currently was focused on taking notes. Pulling out his notebook, Roy began to do the same. He quickly scribbled down the current notes before Mr. Bradley erased them to make room for some new information.

 It was then that Roy remembered something from the day before; he hadn't yet learned if Edward would be joining him at tonight’s football game. Flipping to a new sheet of paper, Roy quickly scratched a message to the blond before sliding the sheet of paper to Edward.

  _'Are you going to the game tonight?'_

 Edward noticed the paper, quickly reading the simple question before pulling out his pen to reply. _'I don't know,'_ he wrote before sliding the paper back to Roy.

  _'Come on, I'll take you,'_ Roy wrote, frowning slightly as he pushed the paper back to Ed.

 Edward sighed, _'I don't really like football,'_ he scribbled and slid it back to Roy.

 Roy let out a soft chuckle as he wrote his reply. _'You don't need to like football to enjoy the game. Lots of things go on at the homecoming game.'_

 Edward rolled his eyes at Roy's reply; a soft smile playing at his lips as he slowly wrote his reply. _'You aren't going to let this go, are you?'_

 A sly grin broke across Roy's face as he read Edward's reply, quickly scribbling out a response to his friend. _'No, I want you to come with me.'_

 Edward let out a soft chuckle as he read Roy's reply, _'Fine I'll go, but only if you take me. I really don't enjoy watching Al and Winry make out every five minutes.'_

 A broad smile broke across Roy's lips as he read Edward's reply, _'Fine, but only if you promise me you'll go to Havoc's after party with me.'_

 Edward smiled, _'Deal.'_

 It was then that the loud shrill of the bell ringing broke the two out of their note passing, a sign that the weekend was finally here. The two teens began to frantically pack up their things, pushing notebooks into already full book bags and shoving pens into gum filled front pockets of their backpacks. Swinging his backpack onto one shoulder, Edward gathered his textbooks into his arms before turning his attention to Roy. He watched as Roy pulled his messenger bag onto one shoulder and gathered his binder under his arm.

 “Ready?” Roy asked, pushing his chair.

 Edward nodded, following the raven-haired teen as he led them out into the hallway.

-

 “The game starts at seven so I'd need you to be ready at about six so we could get there at six thirty...” Roy explained as they walked out the main doors of the school. “We need to get there at six-thirty because it'll be madness. It's homecoming and we're playing against our biggest rivals.”

 Edward nodded, understanding where he was coming from.

 As they walked to their cars, Roy began to go on about their plans some more. “After the game’s over we're going to Havoc’s house, he has an after party that goes on till midnight and after that I'll drive you home.” He rambled on.

 Edward just nodded, fumbling with his keys as tried to unlock his car.

 Roy just smiled as he watched the blonde hesitate. He was still a tad worried about the teen who seemed a little quieter than usual today. But he knew he'd get Edward to relax a little at the football game and Havoc's after party. “Well I'm going to head on home,” Roy said, “I'll see you in a few hours Ed…”

 Edward turned to face the raven-haired teen, a smile spread across his lips. _'Bye...'_ He signed before sliding into the front seat of his car, carefully watching as Roy did the same.

 The two parted with wide grins on their faces, excited for the night ahead of them.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.


	12. Hanging by a Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy's excited for the evening ahead, while Edward's more than a little nervous.

Despite the busy weekend in the small town, traffic was very light for the afternoon, making the drive home relatively quick. Roy was glad; he hated heavy traffic more than anything. It left him with an anxious feeling and a thundering heart. Zooming through the small towns empty roads, Roy found himself parking in front of his house in less than ten minutes.

 

Pulling the keys out of the ignition, Roy couldn't stop smiling. He was excited for the cool October evening ahead of him.

 

Excited to spend an evening with _Edward._

 

With a wide smile on his face, Roy stepped out of his car with a spring in his step. Giddy with excitement he made his way to the front porch of his house, fiddling with the keys in his hand. As he reached his front door, he began the quick process of unlocking the door. The door unlocked with a soft _'click!'_ and Roy began to make his way into his cozy living room.

 

The house was empty; both of his parents were still at work and Riza had not yet returned home from school. With no need to linger in the entryway, Roy quickly began to climb up the stairs. His thoughts turning to what he would wear tonight and how he felt the need to give Hughes a call before the big night ahead of him.

 

After all, Hughes gave the _best_ advice.

 

 

Across the street, Edward was sitting in his bedroom, lost in his thoughts as usual. His large topaz eyes were burning holes into the wall. His mind was stuck on Roy and the evening ahead of him, questioning why he had agreed to go to the football game with his good friend. He didn't like football, he didn't see the point in going, but yet he had agreed to go with him.

 

Running a hand through his long golden bangs, Edward let out a loud sigh. Tearing his gaze away from the wall, Edward pulled his phone out of his pocket to see the time. The bright screen told him that it was four-fifteen, a little under two hours until Roy's sleek black Mustang would pull in front of his house to take him to the game.

 

A soft knock brought him out of his thoughts. Lifting his head up he saw his younger brother standing in his doorway, with a wide smile was on his youthful face, his caramel colored locks glittering in the afternoon sunlight. Sending a soft smile, Edward signed a slow _'yes?'_

 

“I heard that you're going to the game tonight.” Al said, leaning against the doorway.

 

Edward nodded, _'Yeah, I'm going with Roy,'_ he signed.

 

“I thought you didn't like football, brother,” Al said with a slight chuckle, “Are you going because _Roy_ asked you?” He said in a sly tone.

 

A slight blush came across Edward's cheeks, turning them a soft rosy color. _'No!'_ he signed quickly, turning his head to the side. _'It just sounds like it'll be fun...'_ He added, hands slowly acting out the words.

 

Al let out another chuckle. “Whatever you say, brother,” he said as he folded his arms a crossed his chest.

 

Edward let out a sigh as he turned his attention back to his younger brother. _'Havoc invited you and Winry to a party at his house after the game,'_ he signed, his hands quick as he conveyed the message to Al.

 

“That sounds like fun,” Al commented with a smile. “Are you and Roy going too?”

 

Edward slowly nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the time before shoving it back into his pocket. It was just now going on four; Roy wouldn't be there for another hour which gave him plenty of time to get ready.

 

“Well, I'll let you get ready.” Al said, “Have fun tonight with _Roy._ ” He added with a wink.

 

Edward threw a pillow, just barely missing the younger teen as he slid out of the room, chuckling as he escaped down the hall.

 

 _'Al can be such an ass sometimes...'_ Ed thought.

 

 

 _'Roy, I don't know what you're so nervous about.'_ Hughes’s voice echoed through the phone. _'You guys get along great, I can't imagine what would go wrong.'_

 

Roy let out a sigh as he flopped down onto his bed. “I know that,” he said. “It's just...” He trailed off.

 

 _'You don't want to be 'just friends' anymore.'_ Hughes said simply.

 

Roy felt his face explode into a vibrant red flush at that comment. “I-I never said t-that!” He stammered out, nearly dropping the phone.

 

 _'But you thought it.'_ Hughes said in a smug tone. Roy could only imagine the huge smirk spread across his lips.

 

“Look, are you going to give me advice or not?” Roy said, his tone flat and serious. He had called Hughes for advice, not for him to tease him about his love life.

 

 _'Roy, I don't know what you need my help with,'_ Hughes said. _'You and Ed have great chemistry, I don't see how anything could go wrong.'_

 

“Of course something could go wrong!” Roy shouted, “He… he can say no...” Roy started, his voice soft and quiet. “What if he thinks I'm just taking advantage of him?”

 

Roy could hear Hughes let out a soft chuckle, _'Roy, I think you're getting ahead of yourself,'_ he said, _'Remember, Ed is pretty vocal for someone who can't speak. I'm sure he'll let you know what he's comfortable with.'_

 

“Yeah...” Roy mumbled, rolling over onto his stomach. “I'm not even sure if I'll make a move tonight. He seemed a little off today,” Roy commented, remembering Ed's unusually quiet demeanor.

 

 _'Sounds like a good idea,'_ Maes said. _'Well I better let you get ready, Roy-Boy!'_

 

“Alright, I'll talk to you later Maes,” Roy said with a smile.

 

 _'Have fun tonight!'_ Hughes said in his usual cheery tone, _'Bye Roy!'_

 

“Bye Maes.” Roy said before he took the phone away from his ear, hitting the end button and setting the sleek device on his nightstand.

 

It was time to get ready for his eventful evening.

 

–

 

Six thirty quickly rolled around, and Edward found Roy's sleek black Mustang parked in front of his house. He quickly grabbed his necessities: cell phone, wallet, and a jacket before dashing out the door with a quick _'See you later Al!'_ signed to his brother. He quickly made his way to the expensive car, opening the passenger door and sliding into the slick leather seat with a smile plastered to his face.

 

Roy, noticing the sudden noise, drew his attention from the phone in his hand to the beaming blond that was entering his car. In a matter of hours it seemed that Edward's mood had turned around. He seemed to be beaming with joy as he closed the car door.

 

“Well someone seems to be in a good mood.” Roy said with a smile, his eyes glued to the cheerful blond sitting beside him.

 

Edward nodded as he pulled his seat belt on before turning back to Roy with a smile.

 

Roy chuckled at Edward's twinkly behavior. “Shall we get going?” he asked, slipping his cell phone back into his pants pocket and positioning his hands on the steering wheel.

 

Edward nodded as he twirled a strand of hair around his finger, his eyes darting around the fancy interior of Roy's car.

 

Roy didn't say anything. He merely put the car in drive and slowly began to cruise down the street.

 

The small town was bustling with cars and people, all trying to get to their destinations on this Friday evening. It was a busy night for the town, the biggest high school football game of the season drew in quite a crowd, not to mention the ever so popular homecoming dance being tomorrow evening and some people still didn't have all their necessities. Most importantly, it was a Friday night, and Fridays are _always_ busy. All Roy wanted to do was get to the stadium before it got too crowded, he did want a good parking spot after all.

 

“So,” Roy started, trying to break the tense silence between the two. “Do you like sports?” He asked as he approached a stop sign, turning to see Edward's response.

 

Edward drew out of his trance at the sound of Roy's voice. He thought through Roy's question before quickly shaking his head. Turning to Roy he signed a simple phrase that he knew he'd understand, _'No, do you?'_

 

“I only like football.” Roy answered, slowly turning the car as the light turned green. “I'm not as big a fan as I use to be, though.”

 

Edward raised an eyebrow. He honestly could not see Roy as someone who liked football.

 

Catching Ed's expression in the corner of his eye, Roy let out a chuckle. “I know, I know,” Roy said with a smile. “You can't see me as someone who would like such a sport.” He paused for a moment, thinking through his next sentence. “I actually used to play football.” He said, taking another turn he saw the back of the stadium in the distance.

 

Edward let out a soft chuckle, _Roy_ playing _football_? He honestly could not imagine such a sight.

 

Roy shook his head. “Laugh it up, but I actually was quite a good player,” he said as he pulled into the stadium parking lot. “Had I stayed on the team, I would be playing varsity right now.”

 

Slowly, Roy pulled into a parking sport right up front. Placing the car in park, Roy slowly pulled the keys out of the ignition. Gently, Edward reached for Roy's hand, his fingertips swirling around Roy's palm. _'So why aren't you on the team then?'_ Edward 'asked'.

 

Roy let out a sigh, leaning back into the seat of the car. “Like I said, I was a good player,” Roy started. “I was a wide receiver, meaning that the quarterback usually threw the ball to me and I was supposed to run the ball down the field and try to gain as many yards as I could or even better, get us a touchdown,” Roy explained, watching as Edward nodded his head. “Well, when I was freshmen they thought I was an exceptional player and they moved me from the freshmen squad to the JV team **(1)** , meaning that I had also become the guy they'd use in a varsity game if their main guy got hurt or they needed me,” Roy said. “It was one of our last games of the year, and it was really cold out and the rain was quickly turning to snow...” Roy said, sighing before continuing. “A lot of the guys were cramping up. We hadn't prepared for snow and we were playing on a grass field as opposed to turf like here at our home field. The guy in front of me was cramping up and they chose to pull him off the field and put me in…” Roy said, his voice wavering slightly at the end. “So I went in, excited to be a freshmen playing on the varsity team…” A thin smile spread across Roy's lips as he continued, “We were in the middle of the field, desperate for a touchdown because we were down by ten points and we only had one more quarter to change things **(2).”**

 

Roy paused for a minute, breaking out of his memories to look at Edward. The blonde teen was staring at him, eyes wide with interest at the story Roy was telling him. “Are you easily grossed out?” Roy asked suddenly, his eyes careful on Ed.

 

Edward merely shook his head.

 

“Alright, just a warning it gets kind of gross here,” Roy said. “So I was pumped for the next play, I knew our quarterback was going to throw the ball to me and I was ready to prove myself to the team. So the quarterback threw the ball to me, I caught it with ease and I quickly spotted an opening and I ran.” Roy let out a sigh, his hand quickly reaching for his right knee. “I ran and ran, I heard the crowd erupt into cheers and I knew I made a good play and I was close to the end zone...” Roy continued, his voice wavering. “But like I said, we were playing on grass and it was snowing hard at this point… and so I slid on a patch of snow...” Roy said, clutching his knee hard. “All of a sudden I heard this terrible popping sound, and I couldn't get up…”

 

Roy paused to glance at Ed, who looked on the edge of his seat waiting for the next part. “Of course our sports medicine people ran out immediately. I think I was on my back on the field for nearly fifteen minutes...” Roy sighed, leaning his head back as he continued. “They took me into the locker room and ran a bunch of tests on me. I ended up tearing my ACL **(3)** when I slid into what I later found out was the end zone. I had gotten the touchdown for us and my team was able to get us a win.”

 

Roy smiled, “I was happy for my team but after such a traumatic injury I could never go back to football. Physically I could but I was too scared of injuring my knee again,” he said. “Now enough about me, let's go have some fun tonight!”

 

Edward nodded, quickly opening the door and hoping out of his seat. Following Roy as he walked up to the ticket booth.

 

-

 

After getting their tickets, Edward and Roy began to walk up to the stadium to look for their friends. Edward knew Al and Winry were leaving shortly after he did and Roy had said Hughes had decided to attend the game as well.

 

“Maes said that Gracia will be coming too, so you'll get to meet her tonight,” Roy said as the two were walking around the stands.

 

Edward nodded, a soft smile spread across his lips. He had heard about Maes’s girlfriend the last time he saw the chatty young adult, and it sounded like she was very nice and that he'd get along with her.

 

“Roy!”

 

Roy whipped his head at the sound of his name, looking for the person the voice belonged to. He then spotted Breda on the field, standing not too far away from the railing to the stands. Roy smiled. “I'll be right back, Ed,” he said before walking over to the railing and leaning to see his friend. “Hey Breda, excited for the game tonight?” Roy asked.

 

“You know it, buddy.” Breda said, “Wish you'd be out here with me though.”

 

Roy shook his head, “My football days are over and you know that. Too much has changed since then.”

 

Breda just shook his head, “Whatever you say.”

 

“So why aren't you at the field house **(4)** like the rest of the guys?” Roy asked.

 

“Coach was having me do some stuff out here.” Breda said. “You going to Havoc's after party?”

 

“Of course!” Roy said, “I'll let you get back to practice, do work tonight!”

 

“I will!” Breda shouted, “If we win you gotta come to off season lift though!”

 

Roy shook his head as he turned to go back to Ed, “In your dreams!”

 

“I'm holding you to it buddy!” Breda said as he turned around and began to jog back into the field house.

 

Turning around, Roy found Edward to be standing right behind him. “Sorry about that, Breda's been trying to get me to go back to football ever since I finished up rehab,” Roy said. “He just doesn't get that I don't want to come back to the game.”

 

Edward shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing how to respond to Roy's comment. It seemed that Roy was uncomfortable talking about his former football career and Ed wasn't going press the issue if Roy wasn't comfortable talking about it.

 

“Well, we still have a half hour till the game starts.” Roy said, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check for any messages. When he found that he had none he shoved the device back into his pocket. “So, want to go search for the others?” Roy asked.

 

Edward nodded. He was getting bored standing around and he was ready for find their group of friends. After all, Roy said the night would be about more than just the sporting event going on.

 

“Alright, I bet they’re underneath the stands getting food or something,” Roy said. “Come on, let's go.”

 

Edward merely followed the man as they began to cross the lengthy stadium stands.

 

-

 

Underneath the stands was totally different than Edward had expected, it was spacious and filled with kids running around and people moving around. Roy was right: this game was _very_ packed. A rush of anxiety coursed through Edward as they walked through the crowded area, causing Edward to suddenly clutch on the back of Roy's jacket.

 

Roy, noticing the sudden tug from behind, turned around to see what was gripping his jacket. “What?” He asked, misreading Edward's sudden grip on his jacket as a sign that he had something to say.

 

Edward merely shook his head, suddenly dropping his hold on the thick material, _'Sorry'_ he signed.

 

“It's o-”

 

“Roy!” A loud voice echoed through the stadium.

 

Turning towards the voice, the two teens saw Hughes rushing towards them. A young woman was frantically hurrying to keep up behind him.

 

“Well it looks like Hughes found us!” Roy said with a chuckle, watching as his best friend ran through the hoards of people trying to get to them.

 

Edward let out a soft chuckle at that, amused by the sight of Hughes.

 

“I finally found you guys!” Hughes said once reaching them, panting slightly. “Gracia and I have been looking everywhere for you!”

 

Edward turned his eyes to the young woman beside Hughes. She was a pretty girl with a milky colored complexion with peridot green eyes and light brown hair that fell to her shoulders with choppy bangs and long strands framing her face **(5).** She greeted Roy with a hug, mumbling how it had been so long since she had seen him and how he looked well. After they pulled away from each other, she turned towards Edward.

 

“You must be Edward,” Gracia said with a smile, her voice soft against all the noise in the stadium. “I've heard so much about you, my name is Gracia,” she said, extending her hand out to Edward.

 

Edward nodded, wishing that he could say 'it's nice to meet you' out loud. He slowly extending his hand out and carefully shook Garcia’s hand. He noticed how Gracia took no notice of his silence, not even mentioning that Hughes must've told her how he was mute. He liked when people ignored his muteness.

 

It made him feel normal.

 

“Have you seen the others?” Roy asked Hughes.

 

Hughes nodded. “Yeah, they're all in the stands already,” Hughes said. “Gracia and I were just headed up there when we found you guys.”

 

“Well, lead the way then!” Roy said.

 

“My pleasure,” Hughes said with a smile, leading the trio behind him up to the stands.

 

 

Edward had never seen so many stairs in his life.

 

The stadium was massive. It could easily hold the entire town if need be. Due to the stadium’s large size, it had a lot of stairs and of course their friends had chosen to sit at the very top of the stands. Hughes and Roy seemed to rush up the stairs with ease; they were at least three stairs ahead of Edward and Gracia.

 

 _'I hate stairs!'_ Edward thought as he hauled himself up each step.

 

“I think we're almost there...” Gracia said next to him, her shimmering orbs glancing up at the two guys to see them sliding into a row of seats. “It looks like Maes and Roy beat us!” She said with a slight chuckle.

 

Edward sent her a smile.

 

The two quickly hauled themselves up to the row their friends were sitting in. Scooting down the line, Edward sat next to Roy. He eyed his brother, who was sitting in the row behind them, chattering with Winry and Fuery. At the sight of his older brother, Al sent him a warm smile and signed a small greeting to him. Edward smiled and signed back to him, a simple _'hi'_. Eyeing the rest of the gang, Ed saw that most of their friends had come, all of which were currently engaged in conversation, slightly separated into their own individual cliques.

 

“Are you having fun?” A deep voice spoke, breaking him out of his thoughts.

 

Looking up at Roy, Edward nodded. Roy smiled, “Good.”

 

Edward smiled, turning his attention to the marching band that was making their way onto the field. The glossy instruments erupted into a glorious melody of music that Roy stated was the school's fight song. As the song slowly ended, the stadium fell into silence for a few seconds until a few taps of a drum could be heard and all of a sudden the football team burst out of a big inflatable helmet. The crowd erupted into cheers, the fight song once again being played as the players huddled up in the middle of the field before sprinting off to the sidelines to prepare for the game.

 

As Edward watched, the crowd erupted into cheers at the crowning of the homecoming king and queen, the first play of the football game awarded the home team important points, and his friends around him yelled with excitement. Edward knew he was going to have a good night.

 

He smiled. It felt good to be normal. It felt good to _feel_ normal for once.

 

-

 

Halftime rolled around. The band was preparing to take stage for their show and the team was winning by a touchdown.

 

But Edward couldn't care less at this moment.

 

The stadium was packed; it seemed like all of a sudden every seat in the house was full. Edward felt surrounded by people, he felt like he couldn't _breathe._ He felt panicky and antsy; every breath was shuddered and shaky. He was doing all he could to keep his cool; he didn't want to worry Al or his friends, let alone Roy.

 

“Hey,” he heard Roy's deep chocolaty voice break through his thoughts. Edward looked up, curious as to what the raven-haired teen wanted. “Do you want to go- hey, are you alright?” Roy asked, his voice concerned as he took in Edward's pale nervous face.

 

Edward nodded frantically, not wanting to worry Roy. _'Fine, fine. I'm fine. Just fine,'_ he signed; ignoring the fact that Roy probably didn't know what he was saying.

 

“Liar, what's wrong?” Roy asked, edging closer to the teen.

 

It was then that Edward looked around, noticing the seemingly larger crowd. He felt trapped, and he began to shake. Tears began to weld up in the corners of his eyes and it took all Ed had in him to not let them spill over.

 

“Hey, hey, hey...” Roy whispered, edging closer to the distressed blonde in an attempt to keep the incident private from their friends. “What's wrong?”

 

Edward only shook his head, he couldn't say it vocally and he was shaking too hard to sign anything to his friend. His chest shaking with each shuddering breath, all he could manage to do was fiercely grip the bottom of Roy's jacket.

 

Roy carefully watched Edward's every move; he'd never seen the teen in such distress before. He'd been watching the teen carefully the entire evening and Edward seemed fine until about twenty minutes ago, and his distress had only intensified with each passing moment. Roy had only one suspicion as to what was bothering Edward so much. “Is it the crowd?” Roy asked softly, but loud enough for Ed to hear.

 

Edward merely nodded, edging closer to the man for comfort.

 

Roy turned his head for a moment. Tapping Hughes on the shoulder, he whispered something into his ear before turning back to Edward. “Come with me,” he said softly to the teen, who simply nodded and let the dark haired teen drag him down the lengthy set of stairs. All the way, he was sniffling while he tried to hold back his tears and prevent an anxiety attack from occurring in the middle of a jam-packed stadium.

 

“We're almost out, I promise,” Roy muttered as they reached the bottom of the staircase, “Just a little longer.”

 

He dragged Edward across the loud metal stadium floor, pulling him down a short set of stairs and onto a slab of concrete where a small concession stand sat near a gate that prevented people from going on the field. He gently guided the distressed Edward near the entrance to the bustling area underneath the stadium, pulling them next to the wall of the curved entrance.

 

Edward, having not noticed his new surroundings, was still shuddering and on the verge of an anxiety attack. His tears seemed to have spilled over, slowly cascading down his pale cheeks.

 

“Shh, shhh, you're alright...” Roy hushed in soft tones, his voice gentle. Lightly resting his hands on Edward's shoulders, he brushed his fingers against the soft cotton fabric of Edward's hooded jacket. “Shhhh, it's alright, you're fine Ed…”

 

But his soothing was to no avail. Edward only seemed to get more distressed and his tears seemed to intensify as the minutes passed. Roy muttered as many soothing sayings as he could come up with before he realized that they didn't seem to be helping the teen. He felt helpless as to what to do to help Edward calm down. Watching as big fat tears ran down Edward's cheeks, Roy felt a pang of sadness course through his veins and he knew he had to do _something_ to help Ed feel better _._

 

It all happened so suddenly.

 

He leaned down to Edward's level, his hand gently cupping Edward's chin…

 

His lips tenderly brushed against Edward's.

 

Realizing what he was doing, Roy's eyes flew open and he went to pull away, “Edward I'm so sor-”

 

But Edward pulled him back, innocently pressing his lips to Roy's in a soft kiss. Roy felt himself melting at the sweetness of the kiss, his hands sliding down to rest at the small of Edward's back. Edward’s shaky hands rested on Roy's forearm, running their gentle touch up and down slowly. Oblivious to the noise of the crowd as it erupted into a loud roaring cheer as the home team scored another touchdown. Oblivious to everything other than the soft touch of one another.

 

Slowly, they pulled apart.

 

Roy gently pressed his nose to Edwards, foreheads touching as he looked into Edward’s beautiful sun colored irises. Edward was beaming, his once tearful face was now replaced with a broad smile and simmering eyes. Roy slowly pulled back, his lips brushing across Edward’s cheek, leaving a tender kiss before he pulled away.

 

“So…” He started, “What does this make us then?”

 

Edward pulled his hands away from Roy's arms, slowly moving his hands so that Roy could carefully read what he was saying. _'I like you,'_ he said, the best way he could explain his feelings for Roy. _'A lot,'_ he added with a slight chuckle and flushed cheeks.

 

Roy, who now understood simple phrases such as that, broke into a wide grin. “I like you a lot too, Edward,” he said, feeling his own cheeks heat up a bit, “So does this mean you want to, maybe, be a couple...?” Roy asked nervously. “Go on a date or two?” he added.

 

Edward's lips broke into a wide grin, and he furiously nodded his head in excitement. The word _'yes!'_ echoed in his mind.

 

Roy enveloped Edward into a tight embrace, and he planted butterfly kisses on the top of Edward's head and forehead. Edward let out soft little chuckles at Roy's silly antics. “So,” Roy started, “How about we take a drive or something before we go to Havoc's party?”

 

Edward nodded.

 

“Alright, how about you text Al and let him know what's up before he flips out,” Roy said, chuckling slightly. He slowly unwrapped his arms from the petite blonde, allowing him to move around freely.

 

Edward nodded. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he quickly unlocked the device. His fingers moved quickly as he sent his younger brother a quick message explaining where he was going and that he'd see him later at Havoc's house. Once the message had been sent, he gave Roy a thumbs-up as he slid the sleek device back into his pocket, a signal that they were good to go.

 

“Alright, let's get out of here,” Roy said with a grin, moving towards the entrance to the bustling area underneath the stadium. Edward followed him, the pair quickly maneuvering out of the crowded space and into the chilly open area of the parking lot.

 

They found Roy's sleek Mustang with ease, the glossy black car easy to spot in its front spot. They entered the car in silence, both wearing wide grins on their faces. Neither teen made an attempt at conversation, both content with the peaceful silence in the car as Roy began to drive towards the exit of the parking lot.

 

As Roy pulled to a stop at the exit, waiting for a slow moving car to pass by, Roy glanced at Edward in the passenger seat. He was looking out the window, a peaceful look on his face. Roy smiled as he took one hand from the steering wheel, gently placing it against the hand Edward had resting on his knee. The sudden action caused Edward to turn away from the window, his eyes going to the hand now intertwined with his then up to meet Roy’s eyes. Smiling, Edward slowly leaned forward and gave a quick innocent peck of a kiss. Lovingly looking into Roy's eyes as he pulled away, Ed felt his cheeks flush a faint rosy pink color.

 

A loud honk from the car behind them ended the romantic moment between the two, bringing them back to reality. Roy quickly brought his hand back to the wheel, making a sharp turn as he pulled out of the parking lot and down the street.

 

With flushed cheeks, both teens erupted into a fit of laughter.

 

Nothing had really changed between the two after all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) – Varsity is like the main team, usually has juniors and seniors on it. JV stands for 'junior varsity' and is a group of players who are usually sophomores and juniors. JV and Varsity practice together, but have different coaches along with some other differences. Freshmen have their own team, wear different uniforms, have different coaches, do not practice with the JV or Varsity and overall are a totally different team with different rules. Most sports in high school fallow that separation of teams. 
> 
> (2) For those not familiar with football, a football game has four quarters that are separated into fifteen minute chucks with a twenty minute break between the second and third quarter called 'halftime' where the marching band or cheerleaders preform and the players take a break in the locker room.
> 
> (3) - ACL, also known as anterior cruciate ligament, is a ligament in the knee. A tear is a common injury in sports and can range from a mild injury to a more severe one. In Roy's case it was a more mild tear, but he still had to go to rehab to heal tear and such. Feel free to google it if you are more curious.
> 
> (4) - At my high school, the field/stadium is not located at the high school but behind the middle school a few blocks away from the high school. So instead of a locker room at the school, we have a field house at the stadium hat acts as the locker room basically.
> 
> (5) - I based Gracia off of the 4th OVA in Brotherhood, where she was younger and had longer hair. 
> 
>  
> 
> Wow, lots of things I had to explain in this chapter! I thought I'd explain some of the football things in case you guys weren't familiar with it.


	13. Worlds Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spin the bottle is scary as hell when you're trying to keep your relationship a secret.

Edward couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed so much.

 

They had decided against going somewhere, seeing as there wasn't enough time and they truly couldn't figure out where to go. So they decided to hang out in the car in front of Havoc's house until everybody got there. To pass the time, Roy had begun to tell Ed stories about his friends so he could get an idea of what to expect. Sure, Ed had met them before and occasionally eaten lunch with them, but Edward really didn't know them that well and truly didn't know what to expect tonight.

 

“And so,” Roy paused to let out another string of laughter. “Havoc was so damn drunk, he started putting the moves on poor Fuery!” Roy said, letting out a loud chuckle as he remembered the event.

 

Edward threw his head back as a loud string of laughter escaped his rosy lips, tears beginning to form in the corner of his eyes.

 

“A-And so, after he started to work the moves and he thought all was going well…” Roy let out another roar of laughter, “he grabbed Fuery's _ass_ , thinking he was going to score or something!” Roy said, chuckling loudly towards the end.

 

Edward shook his head as if he were saying _'no way!'_ while grabbing at his sides as he let out another explosion of chuckles.

 

“Oh it happened!” Roy said, “And Riza, defending poor Fuery, finally knocked some sense into Havoc and slapped him hard enough to make him realize what he was doing.” Roy continued, “That was the real funny part. I don't think I've ever seen Havoc turn so red in my life!” Roy said with a chuckle, turning to look at Ed.

 

It truly was a beautiful sight before him, Edward looking so carefree and happy. His cheeks rosy, tears of laughter twinkling in the corner of his eyes, the joyful sound of laughter escaping his lips; such a wonderful sight to see. Roy felt breathless, the sight before him such a privilege that he felt his heart skip a beat.

 

As a rush of tenderness overcame him, Roy could not help but lean over towards Edward and gently grasp his slender face in his hands in order to steal his lips into a gentle kiss. A gasp of surprise escaped Edward at the sudden gesture, but he soon felt himself melt into the dark haired teen as he wrapped his arms around Roy's neck. The kiss was soft and sweet, the definition of innocent in all ways.

 

Everything was perfect.

 

All of a sudden, they heard a knock on the window. Both teens quickly pulled away from each other, their faces a deep shade of red as they turned to see who had interrupted them.

 

Jean Havoc stood outside proudly, a wide smirk on his face. Roy could only let out an annoyed sigh as he opened the door to get out of the car, “Come on, Ed. I guess everyone's here,” he said in an annoyed tone as he began to walk towards his sneaky friend.

 

“I see someone's having some fun,” Havoc said in a suggestive tone, raising one eyebrow slightly.

 

“Shut up Havoc,” Roy said in an annoyed tone. This was definitely _not_ how he wanted this night to start out. He turned to see Edward sliding out of the car, shutting the door slowly before he began to walk towards Roy.

 

“Look, you better not tell _anyone_ about what you saw.” Roy said in a low tone, he knew how Havoc could be and he didn't want anything to affect how well tonight had gone for him and Edward.

 

“My lips are sealed, Roy.” Havoc promised, his smirk leaving his lips as he made a gesture as though he were locking a door.

 

“Thanks.” Roy muttered, his eyes drifting to the blonde that now stood beside him. Edward's cheeks were still slightly rosy, evidence of his embarrassment still clear on his face. Roy merely smiled. Gently bringing a hand up to the petite teen’s shoulder, Roy gave it a gentle squeeze. The small gesture caused Ed to look up, slightly startled by the sudden touch. At the sight of Roy he smiled slightly.

 

“Is everyone here?” Roy asked, suddenly turning his attention back to Havoc.

 

“Yeah, everyone is in the basement waiting for you guys.” Havoc said, “I just came out here for a quick smoke when I saw your car.” Havoc explained, gesturing to the new cigarette between his fingers.

 

“Oh, well. Are you ready to go see the others?” Roy asked Ed, who in return nodded. “Alright, let's go then.”

 

Roy began to walk across the yard and to the front door, Edward following close behind him as the two entered house.

 

Havoc's eyes were closed in on them, a smirk beginning to form on his lips as the two disappeared into his house.

 

Tonight was going to be interesting.

 

-

 

Downstairs was heavily populated with the large group of friends, everyone hanging out in their own little area and engaged in their small clique. Some were sitting on the couch, others sat on the floor, while some were sitting in the small kitchen area. **(1)**

 

Edward and Roy were sitting on the floor next to Al and Winry, the two careful to keep a reasonable distance between each other. Their relationship was so new, barely even an hour old, that they had mutually agreed to keep it to themselves until they felt the time was right to tell their friends. Their focus was on Al and Winry, who were giving them a recap of what they had missed of the game.

 

“And there were like, maybe thirty seconds left of the game.” Al explained, a wide grin on his face as he told the story. “And just as they began to run the clock down, one of our guys sprinted down the field and slid into the end zone and we won!” Al said excitedly, “It was so cool!”

 

“That's great!” Roy said with a smile, “I'm glad we won.”

 

Roy turned for a moment, his eyes drifting towards Edward. The blonde had a wide smile on his face, his hands moving in quick motions as he and Winry engaged in conversation. Roy wasn't sure what they were talking about. He only heard Winry answer Ed every now and then, so the conversation was lost on him. Everything about Edward captivated him, the way his smile could light up a room, the way his golden locks glimmer even in the florescent light of Havoc's basement, the way his eyes light up when he excitedly tells a story (even if he didn't know what Ed was saying), the way his hands moved when he signed something...

 

“You're doing it again…”

 

The sudden voice from behind broke Roy out of his thoughts. He turned to see Maes leaning close behind him.

 

“Doing what?” Roy asked, confused as to what Maes was referring to.

 

“Watching him with the look of a love struck teenage girl.” Maes said with a slight chuckle.

 

Roy felt his cheeks heat up. “I was not,” he denied.

 

Maes merely rolled his eyes. “Sure you weren't,” Maes said, slowly rising from his spot on the couch. “Hey I'm going to get something to drink, you want anything?” He asked.

 

“Gatorade.” Roy said, trying to not let his eyes drift towards Edward once more.

 

Maes nodded as he disappeared into the conjoining room, only gone for a minute or so before returning with two bottles of Gatorade in hand. As he walked back to his spot on the couch he tossed one of the bottles to Roy, who caught it with ease. “Thanks.” He said, quickly unscrewing the cap and taking a large gulp of the drink. The brightly colored beverage felt good against his dry throat.

 

Maes nodded, copying Roy's actions as he took a drink from his own bottle. “So what happened with you and Ed?” He asked, his voice low so the blonde sitting not too far away from him wouldn't hear him.

 

“None of your damn business.” Roy answered swiftly, a look of annoyance crossing his face.

 

“ _Ohh_ , feisty Roy!” Hughes said, “Something good must've happen, otherwise you wouldn't be so tight lipped about it.”

 

Roy chose to ignore him after that comment, muttering something about how he should bother Gracia instead of him.

 

Hughes only chuckled.

 

-

 

Edward was not sure how this had happened.

 

Everything was going so well, no one had noticed anything different between him and Roy. They had been playing it cool, each doing their own thing and trying to act as though nothing had happened between them earlier that evening. Not that they were pretending nothing had changed between them, they just weren't ready to reveal their newly blossomed relationship to their nosy friends. Not yet at least. Maybe they would tell them in a few days…just not tonight.

 

It had been Havoc's idea to play a game.

 

Specifically, to play spin the bottle.

 

Playing spin the bottle only made him slightly nervous, nervous that it would land on him and he'd have to kiss someone like Havoc or Breda. They very thought made him shudder. He was only slightly nervous that it would land on Roy, and Roy would kiss someone else… They hadn't made their relationship official yet, so he couldn't really get upset if that happened... could he?

 

But he had never expected the bottle to land on him…

 

Or for it to land on Roy.

 

Meaning that they had to kiss.

 

In front of everyone.

 

“Come on guys,” Havoc egged on, “it's just a little kiss...” He said in a sly tone, making it seem as though this had been his plan all along.

 

Edward looked up at Roy, who was now sitting beside him, with an uneasy look on his face. He couldn't do this in front of everyone, he wasn't ready for that yet. They'd been together for what, a whole two hours? He wasn't ready for this.

 

Slowly, Roy leaned into him. “It'll be okay.” Roy whispered, his voice low so only Edward could hear. Edward only nodded, slightly leaning into Roy as he got closer.

 

They met each other in the middle, their lips locking together in a gentle kiss.

 

Edward could hear their friends making comments, their voices quiet and muffled as he chose to ignore them. All that mattered was Roy, how his lips felt against his, how his fingers felt running through his hair…

 

It all ended too soon, pulling apart from each other with rose-colored cheeks. Edward vaguely heard Al mutter a 'finally', accompanied by Winry murmuring something about how it took them long enough. All Ed could focus on was Roy, watching as the ebony haired teen licked his lips slightly. “That wasn't so bad,” Roy said softly “was it?”

 

Edward shook his head, letting out a soft chuckle as a smile broke across his lips. Roy smiled, a chuckle escaping his lips as well.

 

The moment was almost awkward. Ed and Roy on display to all their friends as they tried to act as though nothing had truly happened. The kiss had let everyone know they were a thing, as a kiss that had no meaning wouldn't have lasted as long as theirs had. But they both were shy, sending each other silly smiles with random burst of laughter escaping their lips.

 

To others it may have seemed odd, and to most of their friends it did.

 

But Al and Winry understood Edward, and how the smile and random giggles meant so much more than they appeared to.

 

And Maes understood Roy, how the way he looked at Edward, accompanied by that _specific_ smile meant something.

 

They were happy.

 

-

 

The awkward moment ended long ago, Havoc announcing that it was time to do something fun- whatever that meant. In the end, everyone crawled back to the carpeted area of the makeshift living room. Havoc turned on Netflix, trying to find something that everyone agreed on watching. They ended up watching some stupid movie that no one really knew the title of.

 

Roy sat on the floor, his back up against the couch next to where Hughes and Gracia sat. Edward lay beside him, his head in Roy's lap with a blanket draped across his knees. Roy gently ran his fingers through Edward's loose strand of golden hair, listening to the occasional soft sound of a content sigh escape Edward’s lips. Both teens were perfectly content as they watched the movie Havoc had chosen.

 

Edward felt so happy and relaxed in Roy's lap, loving the way his fingers felt as they ran through his long strands of hair. Everything felt so perfect…

 

But he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Havoc has a finished basement, so it's not going to trigger Edward's PTSD.


	14. Come in With the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fun can only last for so long before the angst comes in.

Monday morning came far too quickly; the day snuck up and surprised the Elric brothers with a smack in the face. Neither of the teens was ready to face the day that they dreaded…

 

The anniversary of their Mother’s death.

 

This only marked the first year she had been gone, and it was just as hard to deal with as the day she had passed. While it was getting easier to move on, it wasn't getting any easier to live without her, especially for Edward. He and his Mother had shared a special bond and the pain of losing her was something Al knew he would never truly get over.

 

That's why he was not surprised to wake up that morning with Edward curled up next to him in his bed. It did not bother him, they had shared a bed when they were younger and Ed usually slept with him on nights when he had nightmares. They shared a bond stronger than some twins did, so waking up with Ed next to him did not faze Al.

 

Slowly, he rose from the bed, careful not to wake his older brother. Quietly, he walked towards his dresser and carefully pulled out his clothes for the day. He quickly changed, throwing his dirty pajamas in the hamper he had next to his dresser. Once he was dressed he quietly exited his room and went into the bathroom, where he finished his daily routine: washed his face, combed his hair, and brushed his teeth.

 

After he finished getting ready, he quietly made his way back into his bedroom. He found Edward in the same spot, curled up next to where Al had slept. A frown marred Al's face; it saddened him to see the effect this day had on his brother.

 

“Ed,” Al said softly, gently shaking his brother’s shoulder. “It’s time to get up.”

 

Edward didn't budge, he was almost lifeless as Al tried to wake him. Al struggled to get him up, awaken him from the clutches of sleep that he held onto to keep the depression from hitting him. He was in his safe place, as Al referred to it, where nothing could hurt him and he didn't want to leave it. He was hurting, but he was trying to hide from it.

 

“Come on brother,” Al whined, shaking Ed's shoulder a little harder. “You need to get up.”

 

Edward didn't budge, and Al struggled to get him up for another ten minutes, doing everything short of pouring water down his back.

 

Al finally got him up.

 

He knew it was pointless to try and get his brother to go to school. Ed was never a functioning human being when he was in this state. In the end, he pulled Edward into his arms and carried him back to his own bed.

 

As he left Edward’s room, Al knew today would not be a good day.

 

-

 

“How's he holding up?” Winry asked, watching as Al took the seat across from her at the table.

 

Al merely shook his head and sighed, running his hand through his choppy bangs. “Bad, like I expected,” Al said in a soft tone, ignoring the bowl of cereal that Pinako placed in front of him.

 

“I take it Ed is staying home today?” Pinako asked, her eyes drifting to the empty chair next to Alphonse.

 

“Yeah…” Al said sadly, swirling the spoon around the bowl of colorful cereal.

 

“I'm sure he'll be back to his usual self tomorrow,” Pinako said. “He always comes back to us Al, don't worry,” she added as she exited the kitchen.

 

“Granny's right you know,” Winry said. “Edward always comes back to us.”

 

“I know, Win,” Al said, finally taking a bite of cereal. “I know.”

 

-

 

“Where is he...?” Roy asked himself, checking his phone one more time.

 

Roy had been waiting for Ed for nearly twenty minutes now, but the golden haired teen had yet to show up. The coffee he had bought for him was getting cold, and Roy was getting worried. It was unlike Ed to skip out on meeting Roy in the morning, it had become part of their daily routine. It was nearly time for school to start, and Roy was starting to realize that Edward was not going to meet him this morning.

 

“I wonder where he could be?” Roy asked himself as he walked towards a trashcan, throwing Edward’s cold coffee in it. Such a waste, but no one was going to drink cold coffee.

 

The bell rang, it's loud shrill signaling that everyone had five minutes to get to their classrooms before they were considered truant. Roy began to make his way to his homeroom, quickly passing through the large crowds of teenagers in order to get to his class, but he couldn't get his mind off of Edward.

 

-

 

Edward woke up to rain, the small droplets of water pounding on the roof. The sound was almost soothing, but today Edward found even more comfort in the darkness of the day. He couldn't face the sun today, its brightness would only hurt. It would make him think of his Mother, and how she loved bright sunny days...

 

The thought of his mother made his eyes start to water. He took in a deep shuddering breath in an attempt to calm himself down... The pain he felt today was unbearable; it hurt just to _breathe_.

 

Pulling his knees to his chest, Edward took in another deep breath followed by a deep exhale, trying to make the tears begging to fall to go away, trying to not cry.

 

 _'I miss you Mom...'_ Edward thought as he began to drift back into sleep.

 

-

 

The day wore on, and there was no sign of Edward. Roy had eventually realized that Edward would not be coming to school today, but that wasn't what concerned him. He never got so much as a text from the petite blonde concerning his absence. He was sure that if Ed had fallen ill overnight he would pass that information along to him, or Alphonse would tell him what was going on. But that never happened, he had yet to hear from Ed and he had not spotted Al so far.

 

Walking to lunch was different; it was strange to walk there by himself. The walk seemed so much longer, so much more boring without Edward by his side. Roy let out a sigh as he approached his lunch table, throwing his backpack on the floor as he threw himself down into the seat beside Breda.

 

“Well hello to you too.” Breda said sarcastically.

 

“Where's your blonde sidekick?” Havoc asked from across the table, noticing the absence of Edward.

 

“Not here today.” Roy said sadly, resting his cheek in his hand.

 

“Why?” Breda asked, taking a big bite of his sandwich.

 

“If I knew don't you think I'd tell you?” Roy snapped, throwing his head down onto the table. He wasn't in the mood for his friend’s questions today. Bad enough Edward wasn't at school, but so far all of his classes had been hell today. Every teacher was in a snippy mood, their bad moods showing in how much homework they had assigned for the night.

 

“Come to think of it,” Riza said from across the table. “I haven't seen much of Al today.”

 

Just as Roy was going to make a comment, Winry appeared. Behind her stood a sullen looking Alphonse, his eyes glued to the tray of food he was holding. “Hey guys!” She said cheerfully, sliding into her seat beside Riza. Al followed, slowly taking a seat next to Winry as a soft _'hi'_ passed through his lips.

 

Roy wanted to say something, he so _desperately_ wanted to ask where Ed was, why he wasn't at school…

 

But the look on Al's face made him bite his tongue.

 

Al, while he was smiling and making casual conversation with Havoc, had a sad look in his eyes. A look that gave Roy a sad feeling, making him feel as though it wasn't his place to ask about Edward.

 

Lunch went on without Roy bringing up Edward. He got the poor quality cafeteria food, managing to eat a cold turkey sandwich with a side of potato chips. He chatted with his friends about various things, the topics ranging from sports to video games. He did everything but bring up Ed.

 

Towards the end of his lunch period, Roy said his goodbyes to his friends as he got up to throw his trash away. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and began to make his way out of the cafeteria, his mind centered on his next class as he tried to remember if he had had homework over the weekend.

 

“Roy!”

 

At the sound of his name, Roy turned around. He saw Alphonse sprinting towards him, attempting to catch up to the older male.

 

Roy stopped, waiting for the young sophomore to catch up. The caramel haired teen quickly made his way down the hallway, stopping only a few inches away from Roy.

 

“I wanted,” Al paused to catch his breath, “to talk to you.”

 

“About what?” Roy asked, pushing his hands into his pockets.

 

“Brother.” Al said, bringing his head up to look at Roy. “I'm sure you're wondering where he is…”

 

“Yeah…” Roy said. “Is he alright?”

 

Al shook his head sadly. “No…” he said in a low voice, “it's a hard day...for both of us.”

 

Roy's brows furrowed in concern, “What…” He started.

 

“It's the anniversary of our Mother's death.” Al interrupted, a sad look crossing over his features.

 

“Oh…” Roy said softly, “I'm so sorry Al.”

 

“It's okay,” Al said, his voice shaky. “I'm doing okay, it's brother who is...” Al paused, trying to think of a word to best describe Edward's current state. “…taking it hard.”

 

“How's he holding up?” Roy asked.

 

“If it says anything, I had to carry him back to his bed this morning.” Al answered, running his hand through his hair.

 

Roy let out a sigh, copying Al's actions. “So he's in pretty bad shape then,” Roy muttered.

 

The bell interrupted Alphonse's response. Its loud blaring noise echoed through the hallway, signaling that Roy had six minutes to trek across the school to get to his sixth period class, a challenge that he was not excited to endure. “I may stop by tonight, if that's alright Alphonse.” Roy said, turning to walk away. “Bye Al.”

 

As he began to walk down the overcrowded hallway, Roy's thoughts centered on his blonde counterpart and how he wished he was with him to ease the hurt this day had brought upon him.

 

-

 

One year.

 

Twelve months.

 

Fifty-two weeks.

 

Three hundred and sixty five days _._

 

Eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours.

 

One _year_ without _her._

 

The very thought of how long it had been since he'd last seen, touched or hugged his mother made Edward curl up in a ball. A shaky breath of air passed through his lips as he tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall. It hurt, oh _god_ it hurt so _bad_. _._ How had he survived this long without her?

 

It hurt just to be _alive._

 

He thought of the days when he was younger, how his mother had understood him when others did not. How she had been a safe place for him to run to when everything became too much. How she never forced him to speak, how she _accepted_ his silence.

 

As the rain lulled him back into the arms of sleep, he thought of how it felt when she held him when he was young. How she'd run her fingers through his hair, and how she'd cradle his small form as he fell asleep in her arms.

 

-

 

_A wide grin spread across Edward's lips as he excitedly ran his hand across the clean white sheet of paper. Scribbled lines of blue were left in its wake, scattered all over the large sheet._

 

_Edward smiled at his handiwork, before reaching over to grab another vivid color. This time it was a bright red shade, but he was more precise with this color. Carefully concentrating the color to one area as he drew something with a heavy hand, he knew the harder he pressed the brighter the color would be. And he loved the color red._

 

_Setting the red crayon down, he leaned in to reach for the next color: a pastel purple color. He began to scribble across the paper, watching as the pretty lilac color came to life against the stark white color of the paper. He was precise with this color as well, careful to stay in one area of the paper and not erratically spread it across the drawing._

 

_He smiled as he watched his drawing come to life, the colors bright and vivid and pretty to the young mind of Edward Elric. Laying the lilac crayon with the abandoned others, Ed reached for the last color he needed: a vibrant gold color. With a heavy hand, Edward began to scribble short straight lines. Silent giggles escaped his lips as he began to finish the drawing._

 

_Setting the gold crayon down, Edward stared down at his drawing. A wide grin spread across his lips as he gently lifted the thin piece of paper into his hands, he just couldn’t wait to show her! With the drawing in hand, Edward jumped out of his chair and ran out of the kitchen. Silent pleas of 'Mom! Mom!' escaping his lips as he ran through the house in search of her. After searching every room in the house, Edward dashed out the backdoor where he knew she would be._

 

_A wide, toothy smile spread across his lips when he saw her standing in the backyard. Her favorite lilac colored dress flowed with the breeze as his mother hung the laundry up onto the clothesline to dry, softly humming a tune as she did._

 

_He quickly ran towards her, holding the precious drawing close to his chest so that it didn't bend in the wind. Tugging on the cotton fabric of her dress to grab her attention, a shy smile reserved only for her formed on his lips._

 

_She smiled at the sight of her oldest son. “Hello Ed,” she said as she crouched down to be at eye level with the child. “What's my little man up to?”_

 

_Edward excitedly held up his drawing, showing his mother what he'd put his hard work into. Trisha gently took the piece of paper into her hands, staring at the colorful drawing Edward had done. It was clearly a picture of her and the boys. She was in the middle wearing her iconic purple dress and low ponytail and Edward and Alphonse stood on each side of her. Edward was wearing his favorite red shirt and shorts while Alphonse wore a deep blue shirt with scribble drawn shorts. The three were holding hands, the fingers squiggly and adorable._

 

“ _This is wonderful Edward!” Trisha said as she took in the drawing once more. “It's going right on the fridge!”_

 

_Edward's eyes light up at that, his smile widening. After all, only the best things went on the fridge!_

 

_Trisha let out a soft chuckle at the boy’s reaction, “How about we go find the perfect spot for this?” Trisha asked, watching as Edward excitedly nodded._

 

_Getting up from the ground, she brushed the dirt away from her dress and grabbed the six year old’s hand and together they walked into the house._

 

-

 

The final bell rang, signaling that the school day was officially over. Students hurried out of their classrooms, quickly filling the hallways. Picking up his books, Alphonse let out a sigh as he exited his class. He was ready to go home, ready to relax and see Edward. His older brother had been on his mind all day.

 

Making his way through the crowded hallway, Al speed-walked down the smooth tiled floor. Shoving through hoards of people, Al exited through the main doors to the school and out into the chilly October air. Hurrying to get to his car, where he knew Winry would be waiting for him, Al dashed across the parking lot. He pulled the hood of his jacket on as he ran, attempting to dodge the fat raindrops that fell from the dreary blue-grey clouds.

 

Al saw Winry waiting for him next to the car, a sleek silver Nissan. Safe underneath an umbrella, she leaned against the back door, her backpack slung on one shoulder as she played on her cellphone. Her long sun-kissed strands danced against her cheeks from the wind, her cheeks slightly flushed from the late October chill.

 

The sight took Al's breath away; she was just so beautiful without even _trying._

 

The air returned back to his lungs, and Al made his way to the girl who had made the shitiest year of his life bearable. “Hey,” he said, his voice low and less cheery than usual.

 

Looking up from her phone, Winry smiled at Alphonse. “Hi,” she said, moving from her spot against the car and walking towards him. They shared a gentle kiss before she wrapped her arms around Al's neck. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Al buried his face in her neck, inhaling the scent of her perfume. She smelt like honey and apricots, and it made him think of the sweet scent of his mother. A shaky sigh passed through his lips as memories of her raced through his mind, and he felt Winry softly kiss his cheek in an attempt to soothe him.

 

Pulling away, Al quickly collected himself. “Let's go home,” he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket and unlocking the doors as he walked around to the driver’s side.

 

Winry slid into the passengers seat, throwing her backpack down on the floorboard before buckling herself in. She watched as Al slowly lowered his body into the seat, pulling the door shut as he shoved the key into the ignition before beginning to fiddle with the control panel, all while muttering things about how it was cold and he couldn't remember how to work the heat.

 

Winry chuckled at the sight; Al could be so much like Edward sometimes. “You don't know how to work the heat in your own car?” She asked, her voice dripping with amusement. “I thought you practically lived in here the last year.”

 

“Shut up,” Al said, chuckling slightly. “It's been awhile since I had to turn the heat on,” he grumbled, a smile lingering on his lips as he began to back out of the parking spot.

 

Even on this day- the absolute _worst_ day of the year, she made him smile.

 

-

 

Edward woke to weight being added to the bed, the mattress dipping in response. Cracking his eyes open, despite how comforting sleep was, Edward saw Roy sitting beside him. His face locked in concern as obsidian met gold. “You're awake,” Roy mumbled. He didn't wait for Edward's response, instead he moved closer to the blonde. Close enough to touch him, reach beneath the covers, wrap him up into his arms and pull him close to steal his pain. But he didn't, not yet at least.

 

“Al…” Roy whispered, his voice faltering for a moment, “told me about today. It must be hard for you,” he continued, his voice quiet.

 

Edward heard his quiet hushed tones about something involving Al. But all he could think about was the three hundred and sixty five days without her- _oh god,_ had it really been that _long?_ Three hundred and sixty five days without her hugs, without her smile, and how had he survived without the only person who truly understood him?

 

He felt strong arms wrap around him, pulling him close to a warm chest with soft whispers of condolences. His breath hitched- he hadn't realized he was crying- and he buried his face in the croak of Roy's neck and inhaled the strong scent of musky charcoal. He felt Roy's hand run up and down his back, attempting to soothe him as tears continued to fall. Soft murmurs of comfort were whispered as Roy buried his nose in Edward's amber locks, silently wishing to ease Edward's pain.

 

All Roy could do was offer hushed tones of love and comfort and hold Edward, listening as he cried himself to sleep. It hurt him to see Edward in pain. He wasn't used to seeing someone so strong succumb to rivers of tears. It hurt to see Edward's face stained with dried tears and matted hair, so worn down with depression that he couldn't leave his bed. As he gently fingered through Edward's loose strands of hair, Roy pondered on the revelations of the day.

 

He had never realized Edward could be so fragile.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real story begins next chapter :)


	15. Lay Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the world throws you a curve ball, and you don't know how the hell to handle it.

Time began to pass by quickly, the warm fall air of October and November quickly fading into the cold bone chilling wind of winter and December. Weeks passed since the horrid anniversary of Trisha Elric's death, and something changed in Edward since that day...

 

He seemed... _happier._

 

After the dreaded anniversary of his Mother's death, and the hours spent in Roy Mustang's arms listening to his soft whispered words of comfort as he ran his fingers through strands of liquid gold, Edward seemed to change. His smile became wider, eyes brighter, and seemed to open up more. Al said he hadn't seen his brother like this in a long time, he was acting like the Edward Elric before his mother had passed away.

 

 _'It's a nice change.'_ Roy thought as he sat out in the hallway next to Maria's office, waiting for Edward's session to be over. Two cups of coffee sat on the floor beside him, steam floating through the plastic lid. Edward had an early meeting with Maria today, their was still at least an hour before school actually started. Roy knew coffee would be needed if Edward wanted to stay awake for the rest of the school day, leaving home earlier than usual so he could get the coffee and arrive to school before the meeting was over.

 

As he waited, he thought of what was coming in the weeks ahead. Christmas was still sometime away, it was only the first week of December. But he couldn't help but be excited about spending the holiday with Edward. They had yet to talk about buying presents for each other, but Roy knew he was getting something for Edward regardless of what he said.

 

As his thought's drifted to the joyful holiday season, a smile spread across Roy's lips.

 

-

 

“Okay Edward, I'm going to hold up a flashcard and you're going to read me the word it says.” Maria said, shuffling the thick stack of cards in her hand. “Ready?” She asked.

 

Edward nodded, shifting slightly in his chair.

 

“Okay.” Maria said, pulling the top card off of the stack she held it up for Edward to see.

 

Edward stared at the card, the bold letters sticking out against the stark white of the flashcard. He felt the word on the tip of his tongue, his lips parting as he opened his mouth to speak. A soft noise escaped his throat as he swallowed.

 

“Take you time Edward.” Maria said softly, “No need to rush.” She said as she gave him a warm, motherly smile.

 

Edward nodded, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Wh...” He started, his voice soft and shaky. “..at.”

 

“Good.” Maria said, “Now can you try to say it without any pauses?”

 

Edward nodded, staring the card down as he thought of the sounds the letters made in his head. “..W-Whhat..” He said, the word coming out rushed and slightly stuttered in Edward's quiet shaky voice.

 

“You're doing a great job Ed.” Maria said as she took the flashcard and moved it to the side, shuffling the deck of flashcards once more. “I'm very proud of you.”

 

In the past couple of weeks Edward had begun making remarkable progress. He started speaking, slightly. Only capable of small, sight words **(1)** , but it was significant progress for someone who hadn't utter a syllable in over ten years.

 

Edward gave her a small smile, pleased with himself as well. It was such an incredible feeling, hearing his own voice. It had been so long.. that somewhere over the years, even _he_ forgot what his voice sounded like.

 

It was weird, moving his lips and hearing noise escape his throat. He wasn't used to hearing himself speak, he wasn't used to the tentative, small voice that shakily left his throat.

 

He wasn't used to the pool of _fear_ that filled him every time he uttered a letter.

 

Edward wasn't sure _why_ he was so scared to speak, he couldn't remember why he was mute. He couldn't remember a time without being mute, he couldn't remember a time when he was able to speak.. For a long time, he thought he was just born that way. But, according to Al and Maria there was a time when things were different, and he was _normal._

 

Why couldn't he remember that?

 

...What made him mute?

 

“Edward?” Maria's voice broke him out of his thoughts, “Are you ready to move on to the next word?” She asked, shuffling the deck of cards.

 

Edward nodded, shifting slightly in his chair as he tried to focus on the stark white card Maria help up. Staring at the thick black letters on the card, Edward began to sound out the letters and form the word.

 

But he just couldn't shake of this feeling... that something was wrong.

 

-

 

“I can't believe they're letting that psycho out.”

 

The hallway was quiet, so quiet you could hear the water slowly dripping from the old leaky pipes.

 

“I know,” The other man muttered, “God only knows what'll happen with that lunatic out free.”

 

The two men continued their muttering, briefly checking the cells as they walked down the hallway. Their eyes lingering on the very last cell before they quickly made their way back to their offices.

 

The man in cell merely smiled.

 

-

 

As the day wore on, Edward couldn't shake the feeling off. Something was _wrong_ , he just couldn't figure out _what._

 

Looking up at the clock, he saw he only had five more minutes left before it was his lunch period. He couldn't wait, he was ready for the time away from classwork. It would give him time to clear his mind before his afternoon classes, plus he was _starving._ Waking up earlier meant having breakfast earlier, which also meant having to wait longer for lunch. Which _sucked._

 

Sighing, Edward rest his head in his hands. He just couldn't get rid of this feeling, but just what was wrong?

 

He couldn't put a finger on it, everything seemed fine.

 

Didn't it?

 

The bell rang, its shrilling sound awaking Edward out of his thoughts. He jumped slightly, before returning to his normal self and gathering his things. Hastily shoving the heavy textbooks into his backpack before slinging it over his shoulder and making his way out the door.

 

The anxious feeling never left him, and with every step Ed took it felt like it was getting stronger.

 

-

 

The door to the cell opened, filling the small room with light for the first time in ages.

 

Raising his head, the slim man merely smiled.

 

“Come on,” The guard said, his voice dull. “You're free to go.”

 

His grin only widened, glasses reflecting in the light as he rose up.

 

-

 

As much as Ed had been excited about lunch before, Edward found himself merely playing with his food now that it was in front of him. His appetite had suddenly disappeared, as did his cheery mood. He was tense, and all he wanted to do was go home.

 

 _'I just don't get why I feel so anxious...'_ Edward thought, poking a cherry tomato with his fork while resting his cheek in his hand. _'Nothing seems to be wrong, but yet I have this bad feeling..'_

 

“Ed.”

 

 _'Did I forget to do homework for a classes?'_ Ed thought, trying to figure out what was wrong. _'No, I got it all done last night and checked this morning..'_

 

“ _Ed_.”

 

 _'Did I have another meeting with Maria?'_ Edward pondered, faintly poking the petite tomato once more. _'No, this morning she said our next meeting was on Monday...'_

 

“Edward!”

 

 _'Huh?'_ Edward muttered internally, breaking out of his thoughts and finding himself face-to-face with Roy.

 

Roy's brows furrowed slightly, his lips moving into a thin frown. “Are you alright?” He asked, his voice soft and laced with concern.

 

 _'I'm fine.'_ Edward replied, signing the words quickly. He still used sign language for a majority of his communication. It was easier, especially when it took all his strength to speak with Maria. Plus, he was still a little shy about his new voice and it's squeakiness. Turning his attention back to his tray, he proceeded to poke the tomato once more, before shoving the pointy ends into the juicy vegetable and shoving it into his mouth.

 

Roy raised an eyebrow at Ed's reply, not really believing the golden haired teen. “Are you sure?” Roy asked, “You've been acting a little strange today.”

 

Edward nodded, slowly chewing the petite vegetable before swallowing. ' _I'm fine, Roy.'_ Edward signed in an attempt to reassure him, _'Really.'_

 

Roy knew Edward was lying, he could read the teen like a book. But if Ed wouldn't tell Roy what was wrong, he wouldn't press the issue. Edward would tell him in good time, when he was ready to. And until then, Roy would let it be. “Alright.” Roy said, wrapping an arm around Edward's shoulder he moved closer to the teen and gently kissed his head. Edward smiled, his cheeks flushed slightly from the display of affection.

 

Roy grinned before loosening his grip on the teen and sliding his arm down to rest at Edward's waist. Edward shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable before beginning to eat the rest of his lunch.

 

Roy made him feel better, but even with his strong-arm wrapped around him Edward just couldn't shake the bad feeling off.

 

-

 

The sun was shining bright, and it felt warm against the mans pale skin as he took his first steps into freedom. The first time in over ten years... He couldn't remember the last time he felt the sun on his face..

 

He saw a flash of light, the light of a camera going off. Turning towards the light, a wide grin spread across his lips as he posed.

 

Another flash.

 

-

 

The rest of the day passed rather quickly, school was becoming a dull blur and even though it was only the beginning of December. Edward, and almost every other student, was ready for the much-needed winter break. The usual afternoon routine ensued, Roy walked Edward to his car where they took too long to say goodbye even though they'd see each other in ten minutes. Edward drove home, Al arriving five minutes after Ed and proceeded to complain about how he hated driving Winry's beat up truck. Edward proceeded to tell him to _'fuck off'_ and _'deal with it'_ and Winry hit him on the back of the head and told him to be nice.

 

Typical day.

 

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, Edward just happy to finally end this weird day and get rid of the nervous feeling in the pit of the stomach. He went to bed with a ball of nerves eating at his stomach.

 

-

 

Saturday morning came dull skies and intricate snowflakes slowly falling, Edward greeted it with a scowl. Snow was something Edward _did not_ like, because snow meant cold and Edward was not a fan of the cold weather. _'Stupid snow.'_ Edward let out a groan as he changed from his pajamas to a pair of dark wash jeans and a thick red sweater. Pulling his hair back into a pony tail, Edward slowly dragged himself down the stairs.

 

He was surprised to see Roy sitting at kitchen table across from his brother, a plate of pancakes in front of the two of them.

 

“Good morning, brother.” Al greeted happily, “Would you like some pancakes?”

 

Edward's brows furrowed in confusion, _'What is going on here?'_

 

“Why do you look so surprised to see me?” Roy asked, patting the seat beside him as a silent invitation for the teen to come over.

 

Edward followed the silent request, taking a seat next to his boyfriend Edward waited for an explanation as to why he was there so early in the day.

 

“Al invited me for breakfast.” Roy said, cutting up a small piece of pancake and offering the syrup covered piece to Edward, who happily accepted. “We both thought it'd be a nice surprise for you to wake up to.”

 

Edward looked at Al for explanation as he chewed the sweet treat, knowing full and well that the sienna haired teen was up to something. Not that it wasn't nice to wake up to Roy being there, it just wasn't their ordinary routine. Al shrugged his shoulders, “I just thought you'd like it.” he answered before picking up a syrupy piece of pancake with his fork and plopping it into his mouth.

 

They didn't mention that they thought it'd ease his anxiety. They didn't mention that they _knew_ something was truly bothering the teen. Their was no mention of the phone call they shared early this morning, where Al spoke of the troubled nights Edward had been having lately. They didn't mention their mutual concerns over his wellbeing, they kept all this information secret as they knew if Edward knew he'd be furious over the fact they were discussing him behind his back.

 

Edward pondered over Al's simple answer for a few seconds, before shrugging his shoulders and eyeing the syrup drenched pancakes on Roy's plate. _'Fooooooooood....'_ Edward thought as he stared down the delicious looking breakfast.

 

“I was about to ask if you were hungry,” Al started. “but I realized that would be a dumb question.” he said with a laugh. Finishing up the last few bites of his pancakes, getting up Al placed his plate in the sink before he went towards the remaining pancake batter. “How many do you want, brother?” Al asked, stirring the mixture a little more. Al turned back towards Ed, wanting to see his brother's answer.

 

 _'How many can I have?'_ Edward signed, his mouth-watering at the idea of a plate stacked full of pancakes and drenched with maple syrup.

 

Al shook his head, chuckling at his older brothers antics. “Well, I think I have enough batter left to make you three or four.” Al answered, turning the stove back on as he began to prepare Ed's breakfast.

 

As Edward signed a quick reply to Alphonse, who answered quickly in fast hand motions, Roy turned his focus to the blonde beside him. Loving the delightful smile that adorned his lips, the twinkling in his eyes as he eyed the food Alphonse was making...

 

 _'When did I get so sappy?'_ Roy thought, a silent chuckle following. Shaking his head, Roy picked up his fork and picked up his last bit of pancake with it. Swirling the small piece around in the remaining syrup before plopping it into his mouth. Swallowing the piece quickly, Roy turned back to Edward. “So, what do you want to do today?” Roy asked, sliding his arm around the teens shoulders.

 

Edward shrugged, he wasn't sure what he wanted to spend his Saturday doing.

 

“We could watch a movie, play some video games...” Roy trailed off, trying to think of ways they could spend their chilly Saturday together. “Whatever you want to do.”

 

Edward shrugged at the suggestions, he really wasn't sure what he wanted to do. All he could think of right now was the wonderful aroma of pancakes filling the kitchen, his stomach rumbling at the thought of them.

 

“Their are some Christmas specials on today,” Al suggested as he brought over Edward's plate of pancakes. “maybe make some hot coco and watch a few of those.” Al continued as he placed the food in front of Ed.

 

“Hmm, I like that idea Al.” Roy replied, thinking of cuddling up on the couch with Edward. A thick blanket over the two and warm cups of hot coco to keep them toasty on the chilly Winter afternoon. Roy smiled at the idea, it sounded very cozy and romantic. “What do you think of that, Ed?” Roy asked.

 

Turning his gaze to Edward, he saw the blond shoving pieces of pancake into his mouth. He chuckled at the teens antics, before his eyes glazed over in a loving look.

 

His feelings for the blond were just so strong.

 

-

 

After a delicious breakfast made by Al, Edward and Roy found themselves cuddled up on the couch. Edward leaning against Roy, whose arms were wrapped tightly around the blonde, while the two were covered by a thick white blanket. Two mugs of steaming hot coco sat on the coffee table, their steam visibly rising from the ceramic cups while a classic Christmas special flashed on TV in the background. Adding in the large flakes of snow falling out the window, it created a peaceful scenery.

 

Roy smiled at the fact that the blond nuzzled up against him was at peace today, after spending the last few days with nerve-wracking anxiety and restless nights. He deserved this peace, he deserved every minute of it. Kissing his hair, Roy pulled Edward close to him for a moment. Edward's small smile widen as he took the affection in, burying his face in the nape of Roy's neck. His fingers finding way to Roy's chest, Edward began to slowly trace letters against the cottony fabric of Roy's shirt _'You're warm.'_

 

“You're pretty cozy yourself.” Roy said with warm smile, kissing the blond's cheek. Mentally, he was laughing at himself, he was being such a sap! But this was the effect Edward had on him, he could melt the man into a pile of goo with a mere smile.

 

Edward smiled before nuzzling against the onyx haired mans neck, he was acting sappy as hell but he didn't care. Roy made his heart beat louder, made his cheeks flush up like a lovestruck preteen girl, and seemed to clear the rain clouds on his darkest of days. Goddamn, did he sound like a girl. But he didn't care, for the first time in _years_ he felt so happy.

 

Now if only he could get rid of this anxiousness hiding in the back of his mind....

 

“Edward, Granny needs you to bring in the mail and newspaper!” Winry called from downstairs.

 

Ed's smile turned into a pout, but he didn't want to get up! Why couldn't Winry, or Al, bring it in?

 

Roy chuckled at Ed's sulking, “Don't worry love, just bring it in and we can go back to our cuddling.” Roy said, stroking his hair slightly.

 

Edward let out a sigh, _'Fine.'_ , before moving the blanket and making his way to the front door. At least it was a commercial break, so that he wouldn't miss any of the movie.

 

Opening the door, he was met with a gust of cold air that made him miss the warmth of Roy. Quickly, he opened the mail box and grabbed a handful of letters before closing the slot. Tucking the mail under one arm, he bent down to pick up the thick newspaper. Once he was sure he had everything, he shut the door and began walking towards the kitchen to place the mail on the table. Before turning his way to return back to the living room, as he made his way back he began to open the paper to look at todays headlining story. But the picture that accompanied the story made him stop dead in his tracks. The man in photograph...was the same man who haunted his dreams...

 

_'Shou Tucker to be released from prison after serving 11 years.'_

 

Images began to eat away at his mind, memories that had been locked away for years, things that he had never wanted to remember...

 

The torture, the pain, the fear that ate away at him for months on end... It was all coming back to him.

 

His hands were shaking, his teeth were digging into his bottom lip, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes... It was all just too much.

 

His vision began to eat away, the world was suddenly spinning...

 

The last thing he saw was Roy coming towards him, a worried expression on his face and Ed felt himself falling...

 

He doesn't remember hitting the ground..

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sight words are like words young children learn when they are learning how to read.


	16. Life Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the hell am I going to do this without you, Mom?

“ _You hide behind the voice_

_of someone else for years of your life_

_that you forget_

_what your own voice sounds like.”_

-thoughts in the silence, [JADEDGALVANIZER](http://tmblr.co/mivwtA_DFddMkNG0rCC1Fuw)

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Edward what's taking so lo-” Roy's sentence got lost in his throat as he saw blonde swaying off his feet, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he fainted.

Quickly, he ran to the blonde's rescue. Catching the teen before he even came close to hitting the unforgiving wooden floor.

“Edward!” Roy called, cradling the blonde close to him. A million fears running through his mind as the scene of Ed's eyes rolling back played over and over in Roy's mind. “ _Alphonse_!” Roy called, his voice sounding shrill and desperate,“Alphonse, I need you!!”

 

His heart was racing, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know what made Ed pass out. He didn't know if he was sick, if he was hurt, he was just...at a loss of what to do.

 

“You'll be ok, love.” Roy whispered, stroking Edward's pale face as he cradled the blonde close to him. 

 

* * *

 

Hurried footsteps were heard as Al began to frantically run down the stairs, worried after hearing the fear in Roy's voice. He has never heard Roy sound fearful, Roy was a confident person and this made a pang of fear rush through Al's veins and drown his body and sense of reason. That fear meant something was seriously _wrong._

 

Skipping the last few steps, Al found himself in front of a terrifying scene.

 

Roy, trembling as he cradled a pale Edward in his arms

 

Al felt the color drain from his face, “Wh-,” His voice cracked, “What happened?”

 

“I don't know..” Roy answered, “He went to grab the mail and the paper for Pinako, and after he didn't come back I came to check on him and managed to catch him before he fell...” Roy took in a deep breath, “I saw his eyes roll back, I-I don't think I ever seen something so frightening...” Roy said in a soft voice, feeling tears prickle at the corner of his eyes.

 

“It's happened before,” Al said as he walked towards Roy and began to stroke Edward's hair. "It use to happen a lot when we were kids." 

 

The two stood in silence for a minute, both with large frowns marred on there faces as their thoughts centered on Edward. Where did they go now, how do they move forward?

 

They only had a minute of silence before Winry and Pinako rushed in, concerned painted across their features. “What happened?!” Winry asked in a rush, her brows furrowed deep with worry.

 

“We're not really sure..” Al answered slowly, staring at his brothers pale face. “He just passed out..”

 

“He went to get the paper, and he took some time so I came to check on him.” Roy started, adjusting his grip on Edward as he pulled him tighter. “I caught him just before he fell.”

 

Their was silence that fell over the group, everyone focused on Edward for a moment. Roy was the one to break it.

 

“I'm going to take him upstairs and get him in bed.” Roy decided, walking towards the stairs he turned once more to Al, “I'll let you know if anything changes.”

 

Alphonse nodded and watched as Roy disappeared up the stairs with his brother in tow. He then turned back to Winry, talking some more about what he thought might have happened to his older brother.

 

While the teens continued to babble on, Pinako walked over towards the newspaper on the floor. Bending down, she picked it up and unfolded it to see the headlining story. As she read the thick bold font, her eyes widened and she let out a gasp.

 

“What's wrong, Granny?” Winry asked, noticing the shock that came across her Grandmother's features.

 

She let out a long sigh, “I know why Edward passed out.” She declared, before turning the paper around for her grandchildren to see.

 

_'Shou Tucker, Convicted Kidnapper, released from Prison after Twelve Years.'_

 

* * *

 

His head hurt, that was the first thing Ed noticed as he began to regain conciseness.  

 

Opening his eyes slightly, Edward was met with such a bright light that he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. _Damn,_ that did not make his head feel better. Covering his eyes with his arm, Edward buried his head down into the pillow.

 

“Edward?” A velvety voice called out, “Edward, are you awake?”

 

 _'Roy'_ , Edward thought, a small smile playing way to his cheeks. But why did he sound so, relieved?

 

That's when it all came back to him, the paper. The paper with _that_ mans face plastered on it _._ The man who had the glasses that glinted in the light of the dark basement as he took the sharpest knife in his collection and dragged the blade down across Ed's delicate skin. The man who _destroyed his childhood._

 

Shou Tucker.

 

And he jumped up from the bed, and let out a blood curdling scream as the memories he had fought so hard against came back with a vengeance.

 

* * *

 

 

Alphonse was downstairs, talking to Winry and Pinako when he heard the blood curdling scream travel downstairs.

 

He bolted up from the chair so fast that neither Winry or Pinako registered the movement.

He took two steps at a time, and nothing could stop Alphonse from getting to the broken child that he had protected all of his life. Finally reaching the top of the steps, he heard nothing but strangled sobs from the room down the hall, and Al could hear his heart  _racing._ In the back of his mind, he could hear his Mother's words. How she had warned him, in her final days, that this day would come and that he would have to prepare himself for it. For the day when Edward would finally break, and the memories would surface.

 

She had said it would be like a flood, and that Edward would  _shatter_ and that he would have to be prepared to pick up the pieces.  _'It will be very hard, Alphonse.'_ His Mother's sweet voice sang in his mind,  _'And you will have to be there for him, ready to put him back together and mend his wounds..'_

 

As he approached the back bedroom door, Alphonse wished with every fiber of his being that his Mother were here to help him. She was so very good with Edward, and it was killing him right now that she wasn't here to hold him. Which is something Al knew his brother was  _aching_ for. But as Al threw open the bedroom door and rushed to his brother's side, he knew they would somehow make it out ok.

 

Somehow, he would put back together the pieces of Edward and make him whole again.

 

* * *

 

When Al opened the door, he found Roy holding a sobbing Edward. They were laying back on the bed, one arm wrapped protectively around the blonde while the other hand was stroking his hair. He was whispering sweet nothings into his ear, while Edward held fistfuls of his shirt and openly _sobbed._

 

Roy had yet to notice Al's presence, as did Edward. So Alphonse was left silently watched the scene before him, caught between the need of getting to his brother or let someone else wrangle the storm that was Edward Elric. 

 

He wanted to rush to Edward, wrap him up in his arms, telling him everything was okay and that he'd be okay. But, it was the same thing that Roy was doing… But Roy didn't know them, he didn't know what happened.. Roy wasn't him, Roy wasn't his brother, and Roy didn't make promises to _a women on her deathbed_ swearing that he'd protect Ed.

 

As he slide down against the wall, he listened to the quiet promises Roy was whispering to Edward. 

 

_"It's snowing, love, maybe we can go out and play in it later."_

 

_"We don't have to go anywhere, we can stay here and have hot chocolate."_

 

_"I bet school will be closed on Monday."_

 

_"I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay as long as you need me."_

 

Al didn't know how long he sat there, listening to Roy's soft words of comfort. But at some point the heart wrenching sobs slowed to a stop, and Roy's quiet words halted. He heard the bed creek as it dipped, and suddenly Roy was standing in front of him with an outstretched hand. "He's asleep." Roy answered Al's silent question, his voice sounding worn.

 

Alphonse took it with a smile, and the two stood in quiet for a minute before either spoke. "So, what happened?" Al finally asked, fiddling with the stray hairs of his sweater. 

 

Roy sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "He woke up, and just started  _screaming._ " Roy answered, sounding confused. "And I tried to comfort him, before you came up, he was fighting me as I tried to comfort him and get him to stop screaming." He paused for a minute, before a look of pure hurt came across him. "I don't think he knew who I was for a bit, but after a few minutes he looked at me and just  _broke._ " 

 

Al was silent for a minute, taking in the look of a broken Edward laying on the bed. Al could still see tear stains on his face, and he remembered all the times this occurred during his childhood. Where he'd have to tiptoe past his parents bedroom, the door shut and his Mother's soft words escaping the door amongst Edward's cries, and his Father would shoo him away from the door. Suddenly, Al felt the need to  _bolt._

 

"I'm sorry, I need to go."

 

Al fled from the room leaving a bewildered Roy behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

He flew down the stairs and made a b-line for the front door, swiftly grabbing his coat as he flew open the front door. Sprinting out the door and slamming it behind him, ignoring Winry and Pinako's cries behind him.

 

He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he needed to _go._

 

He ran until his legs were on fire, the snow was beginning to pile up and he was struggling against it. Snowflakes were flying on his face, but Al didn't mind. The fresh air felt good, as did being out of the house. The house felt tense, everyone worrying about the same thing but nearly no one knowing how to approach the problem to one another, or with Edward. His late Mother didn't tell him how to handle this, she warned him about it but did not go on abut anyway to approach it. She just told him to be there for him, to hold him, and to mend his old jagged wounds.

 

 _'How do I do this without you, Mom?'_ Alphonse thought with deep sadness.

 

His feet began to slow, and he suddenly stopped in front of the river. It was slowly freezing over, and snow was quickly piling on top of the ice. Taking a seat on an old log, Al began to watch the snow and think.

 

Just how was he going to mend Edward without his Mother's guidance?

 

 


	17. Just South of Knowing Why

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Al doesn't know how to handle this, because Roy seems to have a pretty good handle of the situation.

 

Al didn't know how long he sat outside before Roy found him. The snow fall had slowed slightly, but he could hear the snow crunching under his feet as Roy approached him. Al turned his head slightly, he saw that Roy was tightly bundled up. He wore a thick navy coat, a bright red scarf was wrapped around his neck. It made Al shiver slightly, he hadn't dressed accordingly to the weather.

 

“You have to be freezing your ass off.” Roy commented, his breath visible in the frigid air. A shiver ran through him, and he quickly shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat.

 

Al shrugged, “Doesn't bother me.” he commented.

 

Roy shook his head, “You're a terrible liar.” Roy said, taking a seat next to Al on the bench. He quickly unwrapped his scarf and placed it around Al's neck. “Because it would do us no good if you got sick right now.”

 

Al shivered, burrowing his chin into the warmth of Roy's scarf. “I know..” Al whispered, his voice soft and filled with hurt. “I just don't know what to do, this was Mom's area.” Al paused for a moment. “I'm no good with this area, I don't remember what happened.” Al let out a pained chuckle, “Hell, I didn't even know he had a voice until Mom pulled me aside one day.”

 

Roy let out a tired sigh, putting an arm around Al's shoulders. “But you are his anchor, Alphonse.” Roy said, his tone was a little sad. “You are what keeps him grounded, his love for you is his drive to keep his head above the water.” Roy paused, looking up at the snow while gathering his thoughts. “His fears nearly drown him, his sessions with Maria nearly suffocate him, but your support and his love for you keep him from cracking under all his fears.”

 

Al was quiet, thinking over what Roy had just said. “No..” Al countered him, his head falling slightly. “You are his drive, Roy.” Al spoke in a soft tone, “His love for you, the light that you are for him, that's what drives him.”

 

Roy smiled slightly, there were a lot of things that were left unspoken between him and Edward. And how they felt about one another was one of those unspoken things. They didn't say love, mainly because Roy didn't know if they were there yet. He felt strongly for Edward, but he didn't know if it was love yet. All they shared was that they wanted to share something special, so no words were needed yet.

 

“Al, there are a lot of things I can do for Ed.” Roy started, pulling his arm from Al's shoulders to rest his arms on his legs. “I can kiss him, brush his tears away, whisper words of comfort, I can listen and understand his worries...” Roy paused, “But I can't do what you can.”

 

Al looked up. “What do you mean?” He asked.

 

Roy smiled, Alphonse was so humble. “Your sheer presence comforts him, it's a reassurance to him.” Roy continued, “The bond you two share is so strong, that all you have to do is be there and he's calm.” Roy turned to face Al, a smile on his face. “That's why I came out here to find you, because he needs you.”

 

Al shook his head, “He had you, he didn't need me.”

 

Roy shook his head, “That's bullshit and you know it.” Roy said, “I don't know what to do here Al, I don't know what happened to him that hurt his so badly.” Roy began, “I can't reassure him that he will be okay, because I don't know if it will be. I don't know his past, I don't know how to get him to stop screaming.. I just, I-”

 

Roy's rambles stopped the minute he felt Al pull him close, he didn't even know he was crying.

 

“It's alright Roy..” Al whispered, patting his shoulders slightly. “Things are going to be challenging for everyone for awhile, but we will get through this.”

 

Roy smiled through his tears, pulling back from the hug. “Thanks, Al..”

 

Al smiled, “Not a problem, Roy.”

 

Roy rubbed at his eyes, wiping away any evidence of his tears. “Ed needs you, and we need to get you warm because you are freezing.” Roy began, “So what do you say on coming back home?”

 

Alphonse smiled, “I think thats a great idea.”

 

Roy grinned as he stood, “Wonderful, let's go.”

 

And with that, they began the long tread back to the house.

 

* * *

 

When they returned, Winry pounced on Al. It was a mix of love and anger, and tears. As always, Winry was a crier. She scolded Al, with tears streaming down her face as she bundled him up in blankets and shoved a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. All the while Al was assuring her he was fine, and that he wasn't all that cold despite his visible shivers. Roy watched from a distance with a small grin, he enjoyed watching how Al and Winry expressed their love for one another.

 

But he slowly drifted up the stairs, turning his back as he saw Winry slowly wrap her arms around Al. He knew they needed a moment, needed some time with one another. And Roy needed a moment too, he needed space and time to think. So he decided to take refugee in Edward's room, he was sleeping at the moment and Roy while Roy didn't want to disrupt his rest he wanted to be near him.

 

Tiptoeing into the dark room, Roy pulled out his cellphone. While mindlessly checking Twitter, he saw that the local news station had tweeted about the same story that was on the front paper of the news. The same story that had pulled Edward into this weird state where he was terrified of everything. Roy quickly clicked the link, his hands shaking ever so slightly.

 

The link loaded in under a second.

 

_'Central City, Amestris –_

 

_The man who was convicted in the 2004 kidnapping of a young boy, and the murder of his young daughter, was released on parole Friday after spending nearly ten years in prison._

 

_Shou Tucker, 54, was freed from the Central Men's Colony in Central City after Gov. Armstrong allowed the parole to go ahead a week ago, as the man had showed good behavior in his years behind bar._

 

_Tucker pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges for holding the boy hostage in his basement for six months. He also admitted to murdering his young daughter in front of the boy._

 

_The boy lived only a street over from Tucker, and was a friend of his daughters. Tucker has commented in many of his trials that he just snapped one day. He just decided to not let the boy leave one day after he had come over for a playdate. The boy was freed several months later when he escaped after Tucker had left to go shopping one afternoon._

 

_He had planned to ask for ransom money, but he failed to follow through with it._

 

_Under his parole, Tucker is not allowed to contact the boy or his family. He is also not allowed to be around children. When reaching out to the young boys family, they had no comment.'_

 

 

 _'Shou Tucker'_ Roy thought, _'Why does that name sound so familiar?'_

 

He quickly opened up Google, typing in the name. A dozen news articles spanning ten years popped up. Roy began to skim through them, but they each turned up the same results. Tucker kidnapped a boy, around the age of five or six, held him captive for six months. The boy had witnessed Tucker murder his four-year old daughter, and was tormented throughout his time in captivity. The boy had escaped six months later when Tucker had gone to the store one day, he had escaped through the basement window and ran across the street to a neighbor's house.

 

But Roy had yet to find a relation to Shou Tucker and Edward.

 

So Roy spent the next couple of hours combing through old news articles, trying to find Shou Tucker's relationship to Edward Elric. All he knew of Edward's past was that something traumatic had happened to him when he was young, something so traumatic that it had caused him to go mute. And Roy wanted to find out why, to help the boy.

 

 

 

 


	18. You Already Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one knows what goes on up inside my head  
> There's a new kind of poison and it's starting to spread  
> How do you run from your own mind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck, and I know. I won't give any excuses as for why it took me nearly 3 years to update. All credit to this new chapter goes to my YouTube music playlist of indie music. 
> 
> I would also like to add that this is not a fic where Roy is the solve all problems for Ed guy, the next chapter will show more of Al and Winry's side to this. This was just an easy way to ease back into writing this story after taking a lengthy break from it. Sometimes you have to walk away from things for a bit, and that's what I had to this with this story. 
> 
> Also, no beta, so if you notice any errors please let me know.

  
A week had passed.

Edward did not change, he was like a ticking time bomb for a few days. He would sleep all day, then wake up sobbing almost inconsolably. Where it took a team of both Roy and Al to even calm him down at times, and it was so heartbreaking that Roy found himself crying sometimes. But after a couple days, it shifted to a point where Edward was just…. quiet.

He refused to talk, no sign language or anything. He would just blankly stare, almost like an empty shell.

He refused to get out of bed, or to eat, and it got to a point where he refused to even sleep.

It was hard, and it was starting to wear on Roy the most.

He just didn’t know what to do, and it felt like he was the only one who didn’t know the backstory behind this. Al and Winry had a long chat with Pinako the evening this all started, over a week ago now. While they had this chat, Roy sat up in Edward’s room and googled all he could about Shou Tucker, but came up empty handed.

But when Al came back into Ed’s bedroom, he looked like he had been slapped across the face.

Roy let out a sigh as the memories flashed in his mind, he laid on his bed and watched the snow drift slowly in the sky. Today was the first day of Winter break, and he was enjoying relaxing after some stressful exams.

He hadn’t seen Ed in a few days, he had decided to step back for a bit. He wanted Ed and Al to work through some of this together. As after Winry and Al met with Pinako, Roy felt more in the way than anything.

He had also come to a very serious realization, and he needed time to sort through his new discovery. Roy let out a soft sigh as he thought about it, a soft smile played way to his lips.

He was in love with Edward Elric.

* * *

Across the street, Edward Elric felt like he was in literal hell. But he didn’t know what the fuck he was suppose to do. He was trapped by the strong hold of his mental demons that had be dormant for eleven years, demons that he was never prepared to deal with.

No one ever told him what happed, how the trauma had been so severe that he locked the memories away from himself. Pinako had came up and told him about it, and why his Mother thought it was best. How once he had locked the memories away from himself, life became easier. How they never let the media get close to him, or even reveal his identity, because they did not want him to become the poster child for missing children. They did not want to force him into that role. He understood that, but he did not understand why in his stupid therapy sessions that he had been forced to go to over they years, had never brought this up.

And Al, Al kept sobbing and telling his brother how sorry he was for not knowing.

But Edward couldn’t even say it was okay, that he didn’t blame Al. He was stuck, more mute than he had ever felt in his life.

He laid in his bed, the room was dark aside from the late afternoon winter sun that was sneaking in through the curtains. It cast a white glow to the room, and slightly comforted Edward’s aching head.

All was quiet, but Edward hated the quiet because it left him to fight the demons he had been running from for the last eleven years. Mental demons beginning to assault him, and he could hear Shou Tucker’s maniacal laughter.

_‘No..’_ Edward thought, _‘Please no, isn’t haunting me in my dreams enough?’_

But it was no use, his mind was starting to dissolve into that of a flashback.

* * *

_Today had marked a month since his capture._

_Edward was able to figure it out when Tucker had come and told him that. ‘Happy one month!’ He had shouted when he came downstairs to check on him that morning, ‘We’ve been friends for one month now!’_

_“Crazy fucker.” Edward mumbled to himself, idling rubbing his thumb against the rope that bound his hands together. He sat on the cold stone floor of the basement. His arms and legs were both bound with wiry rope. He was use to the pain of the wiry fibers of the rope rubbing against his skin. He was sure when this was all over the ropes would leave scars. ‘I miss Mom and Dad, and Al..’ He thought, wondering what they were doing._

_Were they even looking for him?_

_Did they miss him?_

_But those thoughts died, as he soon heard the sound of Tucker’s heavy feet coming down the stairs._

_‘No, no, no, no, no…’ Edward thought, as an intense fear started to pool in his stomach. He thought back to the deep cuts Tucker had given him yesterday, they littered his arms._

_“Good afternoon Edward.” Tucker said, his voice soft. His glasses glinted in the late afternoon sun._

_Edward new it was better not to talk, but he could never keep his mouth shut. “What’s up bastard?” He asked, knowing he would regret it. But Tucker could not kill his spirit._

_Tucker grinned, “Oh Edward, you always make this so fun.” He replied, his voice holding an ominous tone. He gave a swift kick to Edward’s knees, enjoying the mewl of pain that emitted from the blond boy. He then turned his back towards Edward, his gaze now drifting to his knife collection. “How should we decorate that pretty skin of yours today?”_

_“Maybe with some band aids.” Edward replied sarcastically, but he wished he could keep his smart mouth shut. As the way tucker turned to face him let Ed know he had made a grave mistake._

_“Oh, I know exactly what I’m going to do now.” Tucker replied, his face having gone grim. “I’m sorry, but you are not going to talk to me like that.”_

_He turned, and grabbed the largest knife he had._

_It made Ed shutter._

_“You saw what I had to do to Nina.” Tucker replied, and Edward nodded slightly._

_Tucker had murdered the girl, and made Edward watch. It haunted Ed’s dreams, and it didn’t help that her blood still stained the floor._

_“Don’t make me do that to you.”_

_Edward shook his head as tears started to leak out, ‘I want Mommy…’ He thought._

_Edward flinched as Tucker grabbed his face, and he let out a scream as he felt the blade of a knife start to dig into the side of his face. Warm blood starting trickle down his face, mixing in with his tears. ‘Stop, please stop.’ Edward thought as pain radiated over him and Tucker’s laughter filled his ears._

* * *

_“Edward!!”_

Eyes flying open, Edward saw his baby brother standing above him. His eyes were wide with fear, arms holding a tight grip at Edwards, but they shook slightly. At the sight of Edward’s eyes staring at him, Al let out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank god.” He sighed, pulling Edward into his arms. “That was so scary brother.”

If Al thought that was scary for him, then he had no idea how Edward was feeling. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, he was paralyzed in fear. ‘Roy…’ Edward thought, as tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. His whole body was shaking, and all he wanted was for those strong arms to pull him close and hold him tightly.

“What can I do for you Brother?” Al asked, his voice stuttering slightly. His panic still very evident in his voice. He pulled away from Ed slightly, ready for anything at this point. Seven days had passed since they first learned of Shou Tucker, and this person was all but a shell and not his brother.

Edward looked at all, his golden eyes like a deep void, tears swelling up. He took a deep breath, opening his mouth slightly.

“W-W-Waann-t… R-R-Roy.” Edward said, voice barely above a whisper and came out all shaky.

Al’s hands fell from Ed’s arms, and Edward almost toppled over. His jaw dropped slightly, as the sudden sound of Edward’s tiny voice startled him. It was far different than Al had ever expected, more soft than he would have thought. But it was there, stumbling over words that came out barely above a whisper. “O-Okay, I’ll text him.” Alphonse replied, slowly pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Edward sent Al a soft smile, before tears started to roll down his cheeks.

He had finally found his voice, after _ten years_ of searching for it.

* * *

Roy hadn’t moved much from his bed, he had a book in his hands but Roy had read barely more than a paragraph. His gaze was focused on the slow falling snow flakes, feeling very much like he was in a snow globe. His mind was lost in a daydream, where everything felt so much more right than things did right now.

Roy woke up from his daydream when he heard his phone buzz, sitting up, Roy grabbed his phone. Typing his password in, Roy opened his messages app to find a text from Al.

_Come over NOW._

Roy let out a soft sign, not that he didn’t want to see Edward or Al. But a text like that from Al, never usually ended up well. He just hoped that Edward had made some slight improvement since he had last seen him. Sitting up, he typed a quick reply to Al.

_On my way._

He quickly threw on some socks, grabbed his shoes, and put a coat on. Racing down the stairs, Roy grabbed his house key, “See ya, Riza!” Roy shouted to his sister, before rushing out the door.

* * *

Barging in the Rockbell-Elric home, Roy found Al sitting on the bottom step. He looked tired, deep purple bags hanging underneath his eyes. His hair was a mess, looking as though he hadn’t brushed it in days, and his sweatshirt looked as though he had been wearing it for far longer than he should.

“What’s up?” Roy asked, worry starting to eat at him.

Al let out a deep sigh, “Winry is with him right now.” Al said, not truly anewering Roy’s question. “He, he had a flashback.”

Roy had a feeling that was not all Al had to say, taking a seat next to him, Roy waited for Al to finish.

“So, I went upstairs and had to shake him out of it.” Al began, “And so I got him up and out of it, and when I asked him if he needed anything…” Al paused for a minute, and Roy pushed himself closer to Al, wrapping his arm around Al’s shoulder in a silent encouragement. “He…He… he asked for you.” Al paused once more, “Not with sign language, or hand writing, he.. used his voice.”

Roy’s arm dropped from Al’s shoulder, “That’s… that’s wonderful.” Roy said, his voice quiet and he could feel tears start to form.

Al turned towards Roy, a soft smile playing way to his lips but it didn’t fully reach his eyes. “Go, he really wants you.” Al replied. Roy could see pain in eyes, but a soft sort of sad happiness was also there as well.

Roy did not have to be told twice, he bolted up the stairs.

* * *

Inside Edward’s room, Roy found Edward’s head in Winry’s lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. His eyes were starting to droop, but at the sound of the door he slowly turned his head. A soft smile started to play at his lips when he saw Roy, it didn’t reach his eyes though.

“Hey Winry, I can take over.” Roy said softly, his eyes never leaving Edward.

Winry nodded, moving slowly so that Edward could get up. Edward sat up slowly, swaying slightly as he set up as a dizzy spell over took him. Roy quickly steadied him before he toppled over, “Woah there,” Roy said, “are you alright?” Roy asked, a wave of concern washing over him. When was the last time Ed had eaten, how long had he been sleeping?

He heard Winry close the door, and before he knew it it was just him and Edward.

“…R-Roy-y..” Edward said, it was soft with warm breaths coming out against Roy’s collar bones.

Roy felt his heart swell with love and break at the same time. He loved the sound of his name on Edward’s lips, but it sounded so broken.

“Yes, my love?” Roy asked, cradling Edward close to him.

Edward said nothing, merely burrowing his face in the crook of Roy’s neck.

But it was okay, because Roy did not need words to know what Edward needed. Right now, Edward just wanted to lay down wrapped in Roy’s arms. Which Roy was more than happy to oblige to.

Laying both of the back down on the bed, Roy soon pulled Edward close to him once more. “When did you last eat, Ed?” Roy asked, concern for his boyfriend eating away at him.

Edward shook his head, as he really didn’t know.

Roy started to run his fingers through Edward’s long golden hair. “How about I order us some pizza?” Roy suggested, “What do you think?”

Edward shook his head, he wasn’t hungry.

“You have to eat, love.” Roy said, “It’s not healthy to go this long without eating.”

Edward let out a deep sigh, slowly fisting his hands in the soft cotton of Roy’s shirt. Why did everybody ask so many questions? He just wanted to enjoy cuddling in the quiet with his boyfriend, but here Roy came asking the same questions everyone else asked. ‘Can’t.’ Edward signed as he tried to bury himself further into Roy’s chest, knowing Roy couldn’t see him. ‘Just, can’t.’

But Roy knew Edward well enough to somehow know what he was signing. “I know it’s hard, but you could try to eat something small.” Roy started, carding his fingers through Edward’s soft tresses, “Maybe some crackers or an apple?”

Edward nodded slightly, feeling almost a little drowsy as Roy ran fingers through his hair. He shouldn’t even be tired, he’d been sleeping off an on for days. But could he even count those nightmare fueled hours as sleep?

“And not to be rude my love,” Roy started, pulling back a bit to look into Edward’s deep golden eyes, “But I think a shower would do you good.”

Edward gave him a drowsy glare, but deep down he knew he was right. Winry had spayed some dry shampoo shit or whatever in his hair, saying he looked as greasy as a cheese burger, but it was starting to feel gross and he wasn’t sure why Roy even wanted to run his fingers through his hair.

“Food first, then sleep, then a shower.” Roy said, “I’m afraid you look like you’re going to drop at any minute, so sending you off for a shower now seems like it’d end up with you getting a concussion.”

Edward just merely nodded, knowing that Roy was right.

 

* * *

After a small snack of cheerios and an apple, Roy gently guided Ed back to the bed - with fresh clean sheets, as Roy and Al agreed they needed to be changed. Edward snuggled up into the fresh covers, but quickly he glanced back at Roy. “…S-S-Stay-y?” Edward asked, his voice shaky.

Roy’s face broke into a soft smile, and he felt his heart skip a beat. “Of course.” Roy replied with ease, and he slid underneath the blanket beside him.

Arms wrapping around Edward’s lithe waist, Roy pulled the blond close to him. Edward snuggled into Roy, nestling his head into the crook of Roy’s neck. Eyes fluttering softly as Roy began to card his fingers through Edwards -slightly greasy- hair. The blond began to drift off with ease, and Roy soon heard soft snores emitting from Ed.

Roy smiled slightly, ‘I’d stay forever if you asked, my love.’ Roy thought.

———

 


End file.
